Hypnotic Speeds and Color Wheels
by Anya Maygo
Summary: Two half-demon girls have come out of the woodwork to win the hearts of those two demon boys: one with hypnotizing stripes and high speed, the other a shy color-morphing beauty. Some language has been added. Review, please - it's how I know I'm even being read! (Did I mention that even though I'm following the episodes closely, I OWN NOTHING!)
1. Called by a Demon Whistle

Called by a Demon Whistle

* * *

Kamiko and Machiko settled down in their room. Kamiko spread out the pages she'd received from class that morning. "Okay, now let's focus on math…"

"This is ridiculous!" Machiko declared.

Kamiko rolled her eyes. And plain as day, her thoughts were transferred to Machiko. "_**You know why we're doing this. Our father didn't want us, so he stuck around only long enough to instruct us in our respective abilities. And frankly, I'm better at blending in with humans, so Mother had me enrolled and told the teachers that you had a condition. But we both still need to get an education, so deal with it!**_"

Machiko tugged at her hair, which was so vividly black-and-white striped that it was hard to say if it was black with white stripes or white with black stripes. That hair was the reason for her staying home: even in a human form, it was far too vibrant to be counted as normal among humans. In her standard form, those stripes also existed from the waist down to her claw-bearing feet and the tip of her long prehensile tail. "You're not _that_ much better at blending in with humans! You still need work on your control!"

Kamiko shrugged. That was true; while they had the same physiques in their standard forms, Kamiko was a chameleon, and one who couldn't truly control her color changes, and it was through her skin and hair, so she could change color no matter what her form was. If something crashed into her, she instantly took on the same colors and patterns. She could blend into walls, but if something startled her, her colors rapid-fired through a rainbow. And she changed color depending on her emotions, which was what Machiko was referring to. "I've refined my ability to keep my emotions under wraps until I've gotten into a bathroom stall or a closet."

Kamiko and Machiko were half-demons. They had a human mother, which was why their demon father hadn't been all that interested in sticking around. Fortunately, they could change their physique between their standard – which was waist-up human and waist-down some strange being – human and an amazing form with their 'demon' coloration, clawed hands and large flightworthy wings. For the most part, Kamiko chose a human form. Machiko chose her standard, mostly because she didn't get out of her room much, let alone the house.

Suddenly, a piercing whistle cut through their heads! Kamiko's colors rippled violently to reflect her pain, and Machiko yelped. When the sound finally stopped, Machiko straightened up. "Math homework later, first we find out what that sound was!"

Kamiko followed her out the window and caught her tail. "Quick – plan!"

Machiko stopped short, poised on one foot. "Um…"

Kamiko glanced around carefully. "Nothing else reacted to that sound, so apparently that was a demon whistle. We find the source, but I'll be camouflaged and you…be in your human form at least until we find what made the sound."

"Fine." Machiko morphed to human and Kamiko vanished, stripping off her clothes. She'd woven a bra and underwear from her own hair and tested it out; as her hair would change colors only slightly less readily than her skin, her woven items also changed colors depending on what was happening underneath them.

As they set off again, Machiko grumbled, "I hate this form!"

Kamiko's voice whispered from the darkness. "You wouldn't have so much trouble if you practiced with that form."

Machiko didn't practice with her human form, and so had difficulty balancing without her tail. The only way she could truly stay on her feet was at a flat-out run. And…she was slower in her human form than she was standard, and this bothered her – she had a need for speed.

* * *

Still, thanks to their flat-out run, they arrived at the strangest-shaped mansion in time to hear the four standing in front of the door read out the warning.

"Not saying the word hot?" Machiko remarked. "That's the oddest warning ever!"

One of the boys – one with a pompadour-like hairstyle – jumped and spun around in a near-panic. While he was doing that, the two girls sized up the four people. Paranoid Pompadour, Shorty, a girl, and a redhead boy.

"Hello. Who might you be?" the redhead spoke.

"My name's Machiko. I heard a whistle and came to investigate. What's going on…" Machiko heard a whisper in her ear. One word. A name. "…Suichi?"

Suichi raised his eyebrows, but he gave her a paper. "Basically, a friend of ours has been kidnapped, and we're going to rescue him."

Machiko studied the paper, while Kamiko stared over her shoulder at the note. According to the note, anyone could come on this rescue mission, but if two people named Kurama and Hiei weren't along, Yusuke Urameshi would be killed.

The girl spoke up. "I'm Boton. This is Kuwabara," she pointed to Paranoid Pompadour, "and this is Hiei."

Shorty turned away in response to his name. "Whatever."

Machiko blinked. "Um…who's Kurama?"

Suichi spoke up. "Ah…" he made a decision and continued. "…Suichi's my human name."

Machiko nodded. "Ooohhh…now I get it."

"Though I must confess I'm surprised you knew my human name, since I've never seen you before. I think I'd remember your hair."

She cocked her head, returning to standard form in response to a shift in her weight.

"Whoa!" Kuwabara sounded impressed.

"Um…" Machiko cocked her head the other way. "Let's see…how _did_ I know your name?" _How to explain my knowing somebody's name when I don't get out much at all?_ "Can we discuss it _after_ we save this Yusuke?"

"Very well, but I do want an answer."

We headed in, with Kamiko hard on Machiko's tail.

* * *

**Machiko**

The room was completely dizzying! And then we learned from a couple of humans that the room had been keyed up to prevent violence! One human had the key required to move past this room, and the other seemed content to just sit in his chair and mock us. Then Hiei decided he had to prove he was better than humans, said the word hot and got turned to stone or something!

I glanced to my left and made eye contact with Kamiko. "_**You know what to do, right?**_"

The eyes moved up and down. Then I couldn't see them anymore.

That didn't bother me, because I knew exactly what she was doing: moving slowly over to the guy with the key to retrieve it from his pocket. And she was going to, as some insurance policy, keep her tail loosely wrapped about the guy's neck. Never touching him, just surrounding it – after all, if he was to suddenly move and get that lasso pulled tight, _that_ wasn't violence. And if she just decided not to let go…_that_ wasn't violence either.

And so we all got chairs to sit on. I couldn't stop squirming. I couldn't help it: it was my tail. Finally I chose to sit backwards on my chair like Kuwabara was doing with his.

Then the jerk making the rules of this game – what was his name? I think it was Kaito – he started reading a book and ignoring us. I was starting to sweat under my black stripes, and it left me wondering how Kamiko was doing. Her idea of ditching her clothes was sounding better all the time.

Upon Kaito remarking that Kurama Suichi was roundabout bragging, I started snickering.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, I think I'm getting a little brain-fried." I couldn't stop giggling.

Still, at least as long as they were paying attention to me or anyone else in the room, they wouldn't notice Kamiko.

Then on the next remark…

"Eighty degrees….no wonder my stripes are sweating and my brain feels baked."

That got Kuwabara's attention. "Wha? Your…stripes?"

"Yeah. For some reason, under…high temperatures…I only start sweating under my black fur. Not my white."

Boton got drinks out of a nearby fridge – had that always been there? This weird room was messing with me. Then suddenly, Kuwabara went to stone! Then Boton blew it by saying the H word and she went stone, too!

Kaito explained the rules a little further. Evidently, it wasn't just saying "hot" that could soul-swipe us: it was saying the letters H, O and T in succession of each other!

_I think Kamiko's the safest of us all – she's not saying _anything!

"Souls are so pretty. I think the girls' are the prettiest."

Then I turned away. "You know what? I'm tired of this game." I glanced at Suichi. "Suichi, I have total faith in your ability to save me." Then I leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Especially since you have an ally in this room you can't see." Then I sat down on the floor and said, glaring right at Kaito, "H. O. T."

* * *

**Kurama**

Her faith in me is astounding, considering she'd never met me before today. But that last statement of hers tipped me off as to how she knew my human name without having met me before: this ally she mentioned must have met me, or gone to school with me!

As her soul joined those of my other friends, I cast my eyes about the room. I didn't truly expect to spot this person, but it didn't hurt to look.

Then something slipped into my hand. It was the key. I gripped the hand briefly for just a moment as a thank you, and then I displayed the key for him.

* * *

**Kamiko**

It was all I could do to keep my color from changing at that moment. I'd actually been fighting the temperature for a bit – my color changes from temperature, as well: blue for cold, and a warmer color for…that word I'm not supposed to say.

And when it came down to it, Suichi had a perfectly legitimate reason for why he had the key, one that didn't bring me into the picture.

He'd been growing plants over! I'd noticed…sort of…I'd just tapped one plant when it was reaching for a key that wasn't there anymore.

"Keep those souls in perfect condition, Kaito. You're in way over your head."

"You can't intimidate me. I still have the upper hand."

Kurama – yes, this current persona of his deserved that name – challenged Kaito to a new taboo game. I decided that as long as I was silent, curled up on the floor by my sister and avoiding any eyes, I would be safe. Though Kurama wagering his own soul left me chilled even in that overly warm room, because it meant if he lost, it would be up to me to save everyone.

* * *

I let my ears tell me what was going on. I won't describe what happened, because most of it was just random, and besides, the game was going to take forty-five minutes…once it got to one o'clock. One would think I could have taken a nap in that time. Nope – I was too keyed up.

After Kaito ran off to the bathroom, I took one risk. I turned, looked up and said softly, "Aaa…"

Kurama was growing plants around the room hyper-fast. He held up a hand to silence me.

I returned to my former position and watched grass grow right in front of my eyes.

Then suddenly, a vine grew thicker, wrapped gently over my head and pulled so that my jaws were firmly around its base! And then some kind of fruit grew inside my mouth, thoroughly preventing my making any further sound!

I knew what was going on. He'd sensed where I was through his plants, and he was planning on doing something that would hopefully scare Kaito. Unfortunately, since I wasn't looking around, it would startle me, too. Rather than risk an outcry, he was gagging me and protecting his sole remaining ally. _Thank you, Kurama. I hope you picked some safe hothouse fruit to gag me with, so that I can just eat it once this game is over._

* * *

Then, all at once, I heard a loud "BAAAAA!"

…In Kurama's voice.

I was completely silent, staring at one hand. My colors had gone crazy – he'd startled me – but I couldn't decide which sound I wanted to make: a scream…or a laugh.

Then someone else started laughing. It sounded like Kaito. Then…the lights started flickering, and finally, returned to normal. The plants started receding, and Machiko stood up. I lay there for another second, waiting for the vine and fruit to get out of my mouth. Kuwabara started celebrating that he was back, and then started yelling at Hiei, who…I carefully peeked up…at least had the grace to look embarrassed.

"Ironic, that after all his wit, he was done in by a laugh." Then Kurama stopped next to me. "Are you all right?"

I ignored the "Huh?" from Boton and Kuwabara and answered softly. "Yeah, I'm all right."

That got a jump. Kuwabara started yelling. "Wait a minute – there was someone else here?!"

Kurama ignored him and extended a hand to me. "I'm sorry I had to gag you like that, but as so many letters had been marked taboo by our game, I couldn't risk trying to explain in a way that you would understand."

I reached up and took his hand, letting color spread from where he'd touched down to me as I was straightening up: typical skin tone, blue form-fitting top, brown pants, blonde hair…with matching fur on my claw-feet and tail. "It's okay. I understood what was up."

That sparked recognition. "Kamiko! I always thought you didn't quite smell right for a human!"

To another human, that statement would have sounded perverted. But now that I knew that he was at least partially a demon, I didn't mind. "I'm a half-demon. Like my sister."

He smiled. "I see."

"Now, if you don't mind…" I tugged my hand free, and purposely fell to the floor, letting the impact send the color over me. "…The ally one cannot see is a hidden weapon."

Hiei remarked, "I can see you perfectly well, you know."

"Nobody asked you, shorty. And frankly, as long as you don't say anything about me to our remaining hosts, I don't care." I crept off in the direction of the door, heading for the wall.

"Hey, uh…" Kuwabara spoke up. "Don't you think you should get up? Someone might step on you."

"Want to field that one, Hiei?"

"She's already out of the pathway. It's safe to walk forwards."

I rolled my eyes. But I did stand up.

_This is going to be the most interesting thing that's happened all week._


	2. A Lesson in Perception

A Lesson in Perception

* * *

**Machiko**

We confronted the other human in this room, who'd evidently been knocked out somehow by either Kurama or Kamiko. I wished we didn't have to wake him up, but Kurama had found a note that said Yusuke would die if we tried to progress without this guy's approval.

"If you know what's good for you," Hiei told the guy, "you'll give us your approval…unless you harbor a death wish!"

_I like him!_

Of course, then the jerk reminded us of the nonviolence rule that was evidently still in play.

At least he escorted us to the next place…a location with seven staircases! Kuwabara made a crack about a stair museum. Then we got the next shot: we had to each go up a different staircase! I hated his end line: "That's for me to know and you to find out!"

Boton pulled out some little gizmo and started explaining it. Apparently it could be stuck to someone and demonstrate the person's physical state, and only the applier could remove it. Plus, if the applier died, the thing just fell off. I was just starting to wonder what her point was when Kurama enlightened me. "I get it. We should write our names on these and stick them on one another so that we can tell if one of us gets hurt."

The jerk in charge gave his assent, and we did so.

Kuwabara leaned over to me while we were doing this. "Hey, Machiko, should one of us stick one of these on your sister or would that mess with her hiding?" he whispered.

I hissed back, "I'll tag her on the sly, don't worry about it."

We all got tagged, though it took a while to convince Hiei to put up with them. My tagging Kamiko on the sly had involved her sprouting wings to keep the devices hidden. It took some maneuvering for everyone else to do the same thing, though I didn't tell them what they were tagging. Plus, she managed to tag everyone with her named toys. When I set mine against Hiei's shirt, I said softly, "At least it's only for today, right?"

He glared at me. Obviously, if I wanted to win him over, I needed a new strategy.

As we got ready to go up the stairs themselves, Kurama reminded us, "Caution is our ally."

I muttered as I started going up, "I hate stairs!"

* * *

**Yusuke**

I ended up yelling at the creep holding me in place when he told me my friends were coming. "They've got four shadows and you've only got two legs!"

He waited until I finished yelling. Then he remarked, "Five shadows, actually, they have a friend tagging along."

"You see?! You're in big trouble!"

* * *

**Kamiko**

I stepped carefully, keeping my wings folded around me like a cloak to hide the tags. I wondered how Machiko was doing; the stairwell was narrow, and when it came to going up, I already knew she preferred flying.

I was probably encountering the least resistance, because nobody knew I was there and I was stepping lightly, barely using the tips of my claws to touch each step.

Finally, I reached a door…and realized that I didn't dare open it. If nothing else had revealed my presence, **opening a door** would!

* * *

**Machiko**

I opened a door and stepped into a room at the exact same time as everyone else did. And two boys were standing in the middle.

"Hey, what's up, guys?" the black-haired one said. I figured that was Yusuke. For one thing, the other one was keeping him pinned by standing on his shadow.

Then the creep standing there mentioned that one of us was an imposter, and that Yusuke had ten minutes to figure out which one of us was it!

Yusuke's first questions were…lacking. I hoped Yusuke was going to ignore me. He didn't even know me, so trying to guess was pointless.

* * *

The most frustrating part was when they got into an argument over Hiei's sister. Then Kuwabara stepped on my tail!

I leaped straight up with a shriek and hit the ceiling! I didn't come down, either, I held on for all I was worth!

"Whoa! Hey, that was an awesome vertical, Machiko!"

"No thanks to _you,_" I shouted back.

Then Yusuke mentioned the seals we were all wearing, and we realized that the imposter wouldn't be able to remove the seals! I came back down to join that party.

And yet…all of them could come off! The only one that wasn't touched was one that was technically placed unobtrusively: Kamiko's. In fact…wait a minute…

I blinked. "Hey, here's a test: how many people came into this crazy mansion to rescue Yusuke?"

They all stared at me.

"Yusuke," I spun again, "the way to figure out who's the imposter is to look for the missing seal! Everyone standing right here was supposed to have _five_ each, but the imposter would have _four!_"

"Five as opposed to four?"

I nodded with a big grin.

"Nice try," the jerk remarked. "But my friend's power is copy. He can copy body, voice, mannerisms and memories."

I growled.

"And by the way, that means whoever you're referring to can come out now."

I outright _hissed_. "Kamiko, you can come in."

After a moment of silence, she opened the door and came through, using the same coloration she'd had down in the first room, with a couple of exceptions: she had slight horns, her face and arms were blonde-furred, her hands had claws, and her blonde bat-wings fanning out and revealing the seals stuck on the inner surfaces.

Everyone else responded in surprise. She _was_ awfully dramatic like that.

"I can't put my wings away until these seals are removed, but I'd rather wait until the imposter is revealed, so don't worry about it."

* * *

Then the jerk told Yusuke that his time was up, and he had to approach whoever he thought was the imposter and hit them hard, that that was the only way to reveal him!

Yusuke was freed, and he glared around at all six of us. Finally, he rushed…

…And punched out Kuwabara! Which turned out to be the right answer, fortunately for us.

"Well, you actually figured it out! How'd you know it was Kuwabara?" the creep asked.

"I chose him because he's the most used to my punching his face in, if nothing else."

I giggled a bit.

"Besides, Hiei and Kurama are too smart to get caught in your trap."

Kurama couldn't resist a shot at Hiei in an undertone about his saying the word hot earlier.

"As for the two demon girls, I don't even _know_ them, and if this was supposed to be a test for _me_, then having one of _them_ be impersonated would have had no point."

I nodded, while Kamiko wandered over to me so I could remove my seal from her wing, and she took her seal off of my side where it had been hidden under my arm.

"That left Boton. And if you jerks were low enough to pick on the only non-fighter, it wouldn't matter if I lost. Even if you killed me, I would come back from the dead and drop-kick your ass!"

I started snickering again.

"So Kuwabara was the safest bet," Yusuke finished. Then he basically told the guy to give Kuwabara back while Kamiko wandered over to the other three to get those tags off them and herself.

The response was effectively, "Sure, but first let's meet the person who engineered this whole rig."

The doors on one side of the room opened…

And a small woman came out! Probably about middle-aged, pink-haired and shorter than Hiei! Plus, the way the others reacted to her, they knew her!

"Why don't you explain it, Fox-Boy, because I'm obviously going nuts!" Yusuke yelled at Kurama, who seemed to have a basic idea about what was going on.

"She was trying to teach us a very valuable lesson: a lesson in perception."

I ignored the rest of this and waited for the little woman that one of them had called Genkai to explain what was going on.

"You four are well-trained fighters, however, three of you have learned that there can be situations where your body is useless, so you must rely on your mind. If you'd used that lump three feet above your ass you might have held onto your soul! Make that two feet for you."

It was amusing to see poor Hiei flinch in response to that shot.

And when Yusuke started mocking Hiei, she told him off about letting himself get caught. Then she turned her attention to me and my sis. "I'm sorry to get you two involved, but if you made it this far in your lives you must have a few useful skills that can be applied to the current situation."

I shrugged.

Kamiko asked plaintively, "Thanks, but can we get Kuwabara back? I'm not used to having my wings out for extended periods of time without officially using them, and they're getting sore!" Kuwabara's seal was the only one left on her right wing, and she couldn't just put one wing away – not wouldn't, actually physically _couldn't_, it was a balance thing.

Finally, we got some explanation. There were new psychics appearing, had been for a month, and the cause was to be the greatest threat!

"I assume some of you have already noticed the demon insects flying through the city."

Kurama reacted in horrified shock, and so did Kamiko, so apparently they had.

"Someone is carving out a tunnel to the demon world. Sakiyo's plan from the Dark Tournament was not buried with him."

"What Sakiyo plan?" Yusuke asked, sounding almost worried.

Kuwabara came in, explaining that Genkai had told him already. Someone named Koenma had found out and never told them. "Sakiyo wanted the money so he could drill some doomsday tunnel."

"But, more importantly, we've answered the question: boxers or briefs."

I could have smacked Yusuke for bringing up that Kuwabara was in his underwear – I'd been trying to ignore that!

"But isn't Sakiyo dead?" Boton asked.

"He's dead, we made sure of that. And now he's probably rolling in his grave because someone's continuing his plan without him!"

"It just keeps going," Yusuke sounded stressed, "doesn't it?"

Kuwabara came back over from getting his clothes, swiping the seal from Kamiko's wing. Then he paused as she shifted back to her standard form with a sigh of relief. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

She blinked at him. "You may, but I make no guarantees that I'll answer."

He pointed in the general direction of her chest. "What happens to your clothes when you change colors to blend in with the walls? Do they change color too?"

She looked at him with narrowed eyes as Hiei started outright snickering.

**Kamiko**

I just kept studying him for a minute. I had two answers ready for him; I just didn't know which one I was going to use: _"You don't want to go there" _or _"I'll let you figure it out yourself."_

_Stop snickering, Hiei, I know _you_ already know the answer to that question!_

Finally, I did a coin toss in my head and answered him. "I think I'll let you figure it out on your own. Just don't hurt yourself." I wandered over to Hiei and moved my tail up to cover his mouth. "And if you tell him, I'll figure out some way to punish you."

His snickering subsided enough to allow him to reach up, tug my tail tip away from his mouth and answer, "I think it'll be more entertaining to wait and see how many days go by before he gets it."

I rolled my eyes and tugged my tail free from his hand. Then I glanced over at Kurama and smiled shyly.

And when he smiled back, my face turned as pink as his outfit. It took all control to keep the rest of me from matching that color.


	3. Search for a Portal

Search for a Portal

* * *

**Kamiko**

Genkai and Kurama both started explaining about the dimension that separated the human world and the demon world. Kurama added, "Tiny portals open from time to time, allowing demons such as Hiei and myself to slip through."

I spoke up. "I…think that's how our dad got to the human world, also."

"They are rare, and closed soon after, leaving us trapped here."

Hiei had a rude retort. "You're wrong, old hag. If there was a hole out of this place, I would have taken it!"

"Getting you to believe me would be a pain in the ass," Genkai cut in, "so I'll let you see it for yourself."

Almost right after Genkai told us where the breach was (Mushiyori City), Boton's metal suitcase started ringing. "I…guess that's Koenma," she said, and opened it to take the call.

A crazily high-pitched voice came from the box. "Boton, is Yusuke with you? It's an emergency!"

I tuned out the rest of the conversation, paying just enough attention to know that Genkai had apparently been brought back to life and that this kid – high-ranked enough to where he warranted the statement of "even you were caught off-guard" – was slow on the uptake in regards to this tunnel being made…and that it had been started during the end of some tournament.

The kid, Koenma, made some comment about the tunnel being at Stage 2 and classified information, and Yusuke snapped, "Well, how can I help you if I don't know anything?!"

I covered my mouth with my hand. _Was…that a trick question?_

At any rate, Koenma started explaining more. When he went into the classes of demons, Machiko stepped into the frame where he could see her. "Not to disrupt the subject, but my sister and I never knew what class our father was in…"

"If you submit a form with as much about yourselves and your father as you can dredge up from your memory, I will get back to you on that."

"Fine." She seemed sulky. Being shut off wasn't something she was fond of.

By the time the most chaotic of information was delivered, Kuwabara was in a breakdown. I was hard pressed to tune him out, and glad when Genkai told him to "get over it!"

Then we went and watched Genkai revive Kaito. After a few scathing comments, I suddenly said, "Um, guys, a plan?"

He turned and stared at me. "Who are you? I've never seen you before."

I studied him. "Machiko didn't see fit to tell you about me before giving up the game. I'm her twin sister, Kamiko."

"Twin?" His eyes tracked to my swishing tail. "I suppose I can see the resemblance."

After proper introduction of the three humans, Koenma called us back, telling us that the tunnel would reach Stage 4 – the point when all hell would break loose – in three weeks.

It was kind of funny when Yusuke and Genkai started shouting at each other.

Then Hiei took a step towards Boton's computer-phone. "Koenma, if these fools are done, I have my own question. In what class do you rank me?"

"Hiei," Kurama sounded half-warning, half-resigned.

"What? It's a fair question! If his Spirit World lackeys are going to place a letter on me, then I want to know!"

"Oh, very well, Hiei, I'll tell you: as I've said, the Toguro brothers were an upper-B. And as of the end of the Dark Tournament, you were ranked in the middle of B-class."

Hiei looked…barely happy with that, and his words said he wasn't happy. "Underestimating me, are you?" Even after Koenma said Hiei'd been a D-class a year ago, Shorty was determined to be in a bad mood. "You're a child, don't father me."

He was about to leave. "You already have your fox, your clown and your hag. I'm a moot point."

_Fox, clown and hag? That almost sounds like it could be a circus act._

"You're just gonna walk away?!" Kuwabara shouted.

"This is your world to look after, not mine! I don't intend to hinder your cause, but I'm not going to help it, either!" He finished insulting Kuwabara and left.

Then Genkai told us that we were going to the city in the morning, and therefore sleeping here. Wonderful.

"Hey, how come I didn't know you were here?" Kaito was one of those insatiable curiosity types.

"That's my power: avoiding notice."

"You stand out an awful lot."

I rolled my eyes. "You never seemed to notice me at school. For all that you paid any attention to me, I was invisible." And I deliberately faded out.

I'll admit to enjoying watching his eyes widen. "Now that is an interesting ability!"

"Save it," I came back into view. "I'm going to bed."

* * *

The next morning, we went to Mushiyori City. There were spirit bugs everywhere! It just about made my skin crawl, and nearly shift colors!

Oh yeah: Genkai convinced Machiko to be in human form, and I'd gotten my clothes back from where they'd been dropped last night…slightly worse for wear. Genkai had had to get shoes for both of us, though. At least we'd decided that my sister's hair could just be a crazy dye job; after all, rock bands did worse things.

Actually, I was with Kurama, Kaito, Kuwabara and Boton. Machiko was with Yusuke, Genkai and…those other two psychic-power humans. My choice. We found the center of the circle, and Kurama suddenly sensed something and went running to see. I was close behind.

"The question is: what saw us?" was all Kurama said when we caught up.

"You mean someone was watching us? That means they already know we're looking." Kaito remarked.

Kuwabara was less sure. "You sure you're not being jumpy? I didn't notice anything!"

Boton quipped, "Well, what on earth does that prove? You've lost your spirit awareness!"

I rubbed my shirt. I'd figured out a thing about my color schematics that was really strange, and I might as well share it before Kuwabara threw a fit. Better keep my voice low, though, for who knew what was hanging around. "Guys…when I feel someone's eyes on me, my colors tend to mark an eye pattern where I feel that person's gaze."

"Huh? Really?"

I nodded. And then I turned to look at Boton. "I…thought I noticed something earlier myself. Like someone was staring at my back, shoulder-level."

Then after Kurama said we should play it safe and meet up with Yusuke, I felt another shiver. As we turned to walk away, I lagged behind and carefully lifted my shirt to look at my stomach. _I was standing facing Kurama, so a watcher would be behind him somewhere…_

Sure enough, two eye marks were there, slowly fading. I shivered.

* * *

**Machiko**

I was itchy. I hated being among that many bugs! And I was hanging onto Yusuke's arm, from necessity: I still wasn't good at keeping my balance without my tail, and I kept stumbling over the shoes. Then Yusuke sensed someone nearby – we'd entered another psychic human's territory. He stopped in front of a descending flight of stairs.

"We have to go down there?" I'll admit, my voice was between nervous and resigned.

"You're not scared, are you?" Yusuke asked.

I tightened my grip a little. "No, it's just…I hate going down stairs. My feet, under normal circumstances, aren't designed for them, and I trip. Going up is easier for me, but I don't like stairs much at all."

"Don't worry, I won't let you break your neck."

We went down and opened the door.

It was something like a bar. There were six possibilities on who was the psychic, and those were just the visible ones. I let go of Yusuke's arm. _I don't want to seem helpless, or hold Yusuke back if someone decides to go for it._

Then a big guy stood up and declared that we were "more power freaks." My hair bristled at the implied insult.

Apparently, this guy could read minds, according to how he knew about Kido's power. I glared. _He reads my mind, he'd better be careful. I don't care to hear my secrets in any voice but my own!_

He turned his gaze on me. "So, someone thinks she's tough. You think you can take me on when your balance is lacking?"

"Who, me? I'm no boxer." _Kicker, scratcher, whipper, maybe, but not a boxer. And I wasn't going to scare the poor bartender worse than he already is by pulling out the claws or whip._

"Well, a partial demon! Never encountered one of you before!"

I glowered even worse. "Yusuke, kick his ass."

Yusuke tossed me his jacket, as I was the one still standing closest to him. Then…

A straight right jab, stopped just before hitting the guy's face…I blinked, and the guy flew backwards into the wall!

I blinked again. "What happened?"

Apparently, Yusuke simply forgot to mention the shockwave. Yanagisawa copied the guy's face and memories, and learned that he was clean, not part of the people we were looking for, which meant we could bring him into the group.

* * *

As we sat in the plaza waiting for the rest of the group, the guy Murota told us about how he could hear everyone within thirty yards. That explained the sweating. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to hear everyone talking at once in a room. I didn't get out much, in fact the sheer number of people around me right now was a little unnerving.

"I envy your life, Machiko."

"Huh?" I blinked.

"You never had to leave your house, have never had to interact with big crowds of people. You honestly don't know what it's like to be in a crowd."

At any rate, he went still, finding something off in thoughts. And the idiot didn't know how to keep his mouth shut, and both Yusuke and Genkai hit him in the head.

"If the idiot doesn't grow a brain in the next five minutes," I growled, "_I_ might kill him!"

Finally, a true evil thought reached his head from an outside source.

"Don't worry, I'll handle it!" Yusuke told him. "Just tell us who he is, and _don't point!_"

I just hoped that this person that Murota was describing and labeling wasn't using metaphorical thinking.

Then something shot Murota in the forehead!

…_I guess it wasn't metaphorical!_

As we rode in the ambulance with him, Genkai showed us that the "bullet" was a pencil eraser!

"It's a warning."

I considered Genkai's last words. "Right…a pencil eraser, something that won't necessarily kill someone, shot into our mind-reader's skull as a warning. Fun."

* * *

At the hospital, Murota had regained consciousness and quoted us another thought from the mind he'd touched before the accident. "'Let's dig a hole, Sniper, each one of us. Seven graves will be a decent start.' Black Angel, Gatekeeper, Sniper, Gourmet, Game Master, Doctor and Seaman. Those were the names that came to his mind when he said the word seven."

"Sounds like fun!" Yusuke replied, with his voice implying anything but. I counted on my fingers, ticking off names in my head from our own party. _Yusuke, Kurama, Kaito, Boton, Shadow-boy, Copy-boy, Kuwabara, Murota, me and my sister. Technically we make ten. Wonder who they're choosing to leave out of their grave-digging game?_

I was letting everything else run past me. Then I let a thought pop into my head that I knew would get Murota's attention. _Kamiko and I can communicate telepathically._

That made his head pop up. "What? Truly?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Anyone just looking at us would think we're as different as different can be while still being sisters. But we're twins. We're still working on growing the ability beyond eye contact or within the room, but the ability to communicate is there, and we can't shut each other out. We're always aware of each other in the backs of our minds." Then I frowned as thinking of that connection brought her feelings to me. "And something's got her nervous."


	4. Doctor, Doctor!

Doctor, Doctor!

* * *

**Machiko**

I was starting to get uneasy myself. Suddenly an energy wave hit me, and judging by everyone else, they'd felt it too!

"Let me guess," I glanced at Genkai, "one of our psychic targets had just activated his territory?"

Every guy agreed with me. I cocked my head. "Since we're in a hospital, I'll place odds that this is Doctor's current hideout."

And…Murota started panicking. I was seriously considering going into my standard form and hitting him.

"Everyone make a circle, facing outwards," Yusuke ordered. "We won't let anyone sneak up on us this time!"

We got into our circle, and I flexed my hands, wishing that I dared just shift my hands into their demonic state. I could – being stuck in my room for most of my life, I'd had lots of time to practice how I shifted. I always had to alter symmetrically, and I blame the wings for that rule, but it was a small price to pay for just being able to spot-shift.

Suddenly, both Murota and Yanagisawa got tagged by insects! When Murota told us that "Doctor's" thoughts were to infect the whole hospital, Genkai told us to take out as many of the bugs coming as we could!

"Request permission for a partial shift!" I snapped.

"Permission granted, if it'll keep you from getting hit!"

Stripes ran down my arms from elbows to clawed fingertips, and we started taking out bugs. About the only problem with this was that anyone who took notice of us would think we were crazy.

We tore past a nurse and ran down a hallway, leaving our two other teammates behind and getting the bugs to follow us. We decided to split up and try to find this Doctor.

"If you find him," Genkai told us, "make some kind of noise we'll all hear – either scream or blow something up!"

I laid a bet with myself that Yusuke would blow something up.

I was with Kido, and Genkai was with Yusuke. I returned my hands to normal before we encountered a nurse. I let Kido do the talking, until a doctor walked in. He told us to leave before he called the police on us. I cocked my head as Kido continued on his vein about how a criminal was posing as a doctor here. The guy seemed to take us seriously, and took control of the situation. Then the nurse gave us a tip – rather on the late side, as the doctor had taken Kido's shoulders to escort him out of the room. "Yes, but…why are you here, sir? You're working the late-night shift!"

I never saw what he did to Kido, because I'd jumped up to snatch the shoes off my feet in midair. I never wore socks, in case I had to pull a quick-shift like now. _No tail, just the feet…_

Kido fell down, the nurse screamed, and Doctor spun and sliced her chest open! He turned to where I had been, but I was already running away.

* * *

**Yusuke**

I found Kido on the floor, and the guy trapped me by my shadow. That was confirmation enough that the Doctor was here. But how could he tell me…

Then Kido's shadow started moving on its own to write a name in his own blood! _Kamiya._ The guy was even in the room!

"I take it that's you!"

I barely blinked, and every other doctor in the room was sliced open and falling down! Then the guy lunged for me!

"Hey, Kido, not to be bitchy or anything, but _could you get off my shadow?!_"

I leaped out of the way just in time!

"That was cutting it close! …Hey, where's Machiko, anyway?"

* * *

**Kamiko**

We got back into town, and it looked like there were even more of those bugs than when we first got here!

"Hey, Kamiko," Kaito asked me, "what's with your arm?"

I glanced at it. It was gaining speckles in a couple of odd colors, and the speckles were moving. "Oh. That. That's what happens when I'm in a circumstance where someone else would say their skin was crawling. I'm just glad I'm able to keep it fairly muted, so that most people don't notice."

Then we had to go find Yusuke's group, because since our follower had left, that meant that the other group was being targeted!

"Kamiko," Boton asked on the run, "how close are you to your sister?"

"We have a connection that's outright telepathic if we're in the same room. It hasn't gotten strong enough to be a good substitute for a phone yet, but I can pull emotions from that line."

"So, how's she doing?"

I blinked once, thinking about that connection. "Something's got her spooked, and frustrated. The frustration means she's probably in a public area where she can't take her standard form. Spooked…"

"I get the feeling," Kurama spoke up, "that Machiko doesn't spook easily."

"She's never actually seen combat in anything except movies. If something had happened in full view, then she would have been set on edge."

"Hey," Kuwabara craned his neck around to look at me, "does that mean you haven't actually been in combat either?"

"Yup."

* * *

**Machiko**

I actually ended up taking on my standard form while I was running around. I had no choice – there were bugs everywhere! At least anyone who could see me like that was unconscious.

Then I rounded a corner and nearly ran into two girls and a flying penguin-thing! "Whoa! Steady!" I spun around both of them and let my tail clock about five bugs that had been following them.

"Hey, thanks!" the taller one said.

"No problem, let's keep moving! I'm Machiko, and you don't seem too surprised about what I look like."

"I'm Shizuru, and this is Keiko. We've seen some pretty strange people in our time. Are you a demon?"

"Half-demon. I came here with a boy named Yusuke."

"Is he all right?" Keiko asked. The whole time we were talking, I was using something of a sixth sense and smacking chasing bugs with my tail.

"He was when we split up. I don't know where he is now. Not to make a pun, but there's a mad doctor in the house, and he's the one who made all these bugs."

We managed to get an elevator. I slumped down to the floor. I was…a little tired. For all that I had a pretty high level of endurance, I wasn't used to pushing myself for very long. That stemmed from the fact that I didn't get out much.

Then Keiko started shivering! Apparently a bug had gotten in with us, on the one person who couldn't see them.

* * *

**Kamiko**

When we got to the hospital, Kurama decided to go in alone. I took off after him. "Kurama, I'm coming too!"

"Kamiko…"

"My sister's in there! Don't talk me out of it!"

After a moment of silence, he smiled. "Well then, you'd best do everything I say."

"Of course! You're the one with the experience!"

"The front entrance won't be safe…neither will the back!"

I suddenly spread my wings. "Grab hold!"

After a second of surprise, he dropped back. "I'll get on after you take flight."

I saw the sense. Leaping into the air, I flapped a couple times to try to gain some height. Kurama's sudden weight – technically on my tail, he hadn't quite gained enough height for my back – caused a little trouble, but I managed to keep climbing. "Get on top of the building!"

I labored upwards until I reached the top. He let go and had a neat landing on the building. My own landing was less than graceful (for "less than graceful," read "bellyflop"), but at least nothing was broken.

At least part of the reason for the awkward landing was the entering of a psychic's territory, which I hadn't exactly expected.

"Are you all right?" Kurama asked, holding out his hand.

"Yeah…a little flattened, but I'm okay." I put away my wings, since I wasn't likely to use them, and accepted his hand as he helped me up.

"We'd best remain cautious."

**Machiko**

We'd picked up Genkai in the elevator, and then rode back to ground floor, where we left Shizuru and Keiko in the elevator with the flying penguin and went out to combat more bugs. "Bring them on!"

* * *

**Kamiko**

We slashed through some bugs in an elevator that two girls and a penguin-bird had fallen out of. One of the girls had apparently been stung.

"Kurama?" one of the girls said.

Kurama apparently knew them. "What on earth are you two doing here?"

"Hey," the same girl looked at me. "You look kind of like Machiko. I mean, you have the same kind of tail."

"You've seen Machiko? Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She ran off with Genkai. Oh, I'm Shizuru, and this…come on, Keiko, hang in there!"

* * *

**Machiko**

Genkai and I helped Yusuke corner the Doctor. I was enjoying myself, and had chosen the vibrantly-striped demonic version of myself, minus the wings which would have torn my shirt and taken up too much space in a hallway.

Finally, Yusuke managed to throw the jerk out the window – first floor, so he'd survive – and outside his territory. I returned to something more normal in appearance, and we reunited with Boton, Keiko and Kuwabara.

"Hello, where's my sis?" I asked.

I got my answer as soon as I turned around.

"Well, this certainly is a reunion," Kurama said as he came up with Kamiko by his side and Shizuru and Keiko following them.

"Hey, girls! How's Keiko doing?"

"Just fine now, thank you."

We all left – except Kaito. He was going to stay and make sure Kido got good treatment.

"Hey, Stripey, where'd you run off to after you left Kido?"

"I..." I stopped. Then I bowed my head. "I...ran... If I could have, I'd have run all the way out of the hospital. I'd never seen death firsthand before. If I hadn't nearly run into Keiko and Shizune, I would have left the hospital."

"Doctor slashing that nurse freaked you out, huh?" He didn't sound as scornful as I'd been worried he would.

"You have no idea."

**Kamiko**

"Ow…" I rubbed my chest.

"Hey, sis…" Machiko leaned around to stare at my back, "did you actually use your wings?"

I grabbed Shizuru's coat from her hand and flung it across my torn shirt. "So what if I did?"

"Hey, congrats! I knew you were going to have to fly sooner or later!"

"Wait a minute," Kurama turned around and stared at me. "You mean that was your first flight?"

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "The dying-duck wobble-climb and the wipeout landing didn't tip you off?"

"I thought the wobbling was because of my weight."

I shook my head. "I've never had opportunity to fly before today. Opportunity, or reason. Or…desire, actually."

Keiko glanced at me. "Hey, are you okay? Your, um, your hair just turned pink."

I glanced at her with a smile. "Where Machiko's got crazy stripes, I'm a chameleon. Pink means either shyness or embarrassment. This time, I'm a little embarrassed."

"Oh."

"I've relaxed somewhat about my policy of keeping my color changes out of my hair, hang on…" I focused my hair back to golden.

"That's pretty!"

That one remark made my face turn completely rose-pink bordering on crimson. I don't get compliments often. "Thank you, Keiko."

"What's it look like when you're angry, Kamiko?" Kuwabara asked.

"I actually ran a test about that once, getting myself to feel certain emotions and seeing what happened to my hand." I glanced at Murota. "You want to field it?" Thanks to a passing thought from Machiko, I knew he was a mind reader.

"Huh? Uh, okay." He looked at my head for a minute, and then started talking, saying what I was thinking. "If it's dark, that means it's definitely an emotion. Dark red is anger, and dark blue means she's sad. Grey is exhaustion, bright red is full embarrassment. Green means she's not feeling too well, and white means she's scared."

Boton clearly was curious. "What about black?"

Then it was his turn to go pale. "Black…black's when she's really, _really_ angry. _Your_ kind of angry, Yusuke, the kind where she could kill someone. Nobody wants to see black if she's not camouflaging with it or faking a wardrobe." Then he realized what he'd just ended his sentence with and apparently double-checked that particular train of thought in my head.

_We're running a poll on how long it takes Kuwabara to figure that particular point out on his own, Murota; don't blow it!_

"Uh…right." His nose was bleeding, though.

_Men!_


	5. Power Gained, a Friend Kidnapped

Power Gained, a Friend Captured

* * *

**Kamiko**

I chose to ignore Yusuke as he shouted at Kaito over Kurama being missing. I had no comments to make. Sure, the portal opening in one week was a bummer and all, but Machiko was starting to worry me.

After Yusuke stormed out, Keiko turned to me. "Kamiko, are you okay?"

"Hm. _I'm_ fine, but I'm worried about my sister."

Yanagisawa was the next to ask a question. "Why? What's she doing?"

"Writing, actually; she's writing a lot and mumbling to herself. And her handwriting's atrocious, so even when I get a hold of her papers, I can't tell what she's writing about."

Kaito asked the question whose answer worried me the most. "How long has she been doing this?"

"Since…since the hospital thing."

Boton cocked her head. "You said you can always sense your sister in your head…have you…"

"All I can pick up is that it has nothing to do with the demon portal. Her very emotions…let's see if I can give you a basic picture of her emotions here…"

I tapped my link with Machiko…she was up to that writing again…and put _her_ emotions into _my_ color-changing skin.

"Whoa!" Everyone except Genkai jumped back when my colors suddenly exploded into a rainbow, twisting and swirling chaotically and not remaining the same thing for very long. All colors were remaining on my skin, but they were shifting about so much…

Genkai spoke. "Your sister definitely has conflicting emotions over something."

I let my color return to normal. "That's an understatement."

* * *

Genkai ended up pounding Yusuke for his running off to the arcade instead of finding Kuwabara. Apparently the goof had more power inside him than expected, and if our enemies found out…they'd take him on first.

Well…he made it back…with all his friends and one other kid in tow.

* * *

The next morning…when the kid woke up, all of us were there. Including Machiko; I had to do something to get her out of her rut.

"You're Yusuke."

"That's right, Goldie; and that's my bed you're sleeping in, thanks to Mister Freight Train over there dragging you in so we could stitch you back up!"

Machiko started snickering.

Kurama told the kid about what we did with Kuwabara's friends. I just stood there swishing my tail. If this kid had been spying on us for any length of time, there was no reason to hide what I was.

"Kuwabara saved you after you tried to kill him, you think any of your psychic pals would have done that?" Yusuke was determined to get info. "You owe him big, so start talking!"

He told us…about some video that he'd been shown, a video called Chapter Black. Kurama elaborated on what that was. Apparently Hiei's wanted it for years, and it documented every awful thing humanity's done.

I gritted my teeth as the kid kept talking. Yusuke yelled out, and the kid kept going!

**Machiko**

I glanced over at Kamiko. Her color was darkening rapidly. She'd gone red over Kurama's description of that Chapter Black video, and this kid was just getting her angrier.

It took Yusuke telling the kid what Kuwabara had said when he'd briefly come to in order to make the kid burst into tears instead. I glanced at Kami. Her color had hit an odd warp when he'd started crying.

Yusuke and Kurama left the room to talk. I heard Yusuke say something about the 6-o-clock news pissing him off and how that tape must have humanity's worst.

Kamiko's color hadn't exactly returned to its golden normal. I'm not sure how she's going to take anything else.

Then Yusuke started shouting at Koenma through the briefcase-thing, something about how Koenma knows exactly who our opponent is and hasn't told us!

"I wasn't positive until the videotape." Koenma had an unreadable expression. "Only one man has a copy of that. I just didn't want to believe it."

Yusuke yelled one more time. "Cut to the meat, pal!"

"…As you wish, Yusuke. The name of the mastermind…Shinobu Sensui. _He_ was the spirit detective of the earth before _you_ came along."

After a bit more explanation, one that ended with Koenma saying he was going to come to Human World soon, Yusuke yelled, "Well, I'm not going to let some guy just like me be the end of the world!"

Somehow…that sentence struck me as funny.

* * *

**Kamiko**

We got to talking about this Sensui guy…kind of. I went with Boton to see that kid Seaman. He still looked really sad. I considered showing him my color-change party trick. The only question was, who would I do it with? The trick involved me and another person. Normally I practiced that move with Machiko, but I did that one so often it was easy, for all that her colors walked the line between easy and difficult.

Then I came back into the room where the guys were talking. Koenma had appeared, this time looking like a hot teenage boy…though I'm not sure why he kept the pacifier.

He explained to us about Sensui. Apparently, he'd been a fabulous Spirit Detective who saw things in black and white – just the mention of those colors side by side got everyone at the table glancing at Machiko – and he'd been sent on a mission with loads of gray: sealing a tunnel between the human world and the demon world.

Demons were being caught by that tunnel and sold on the black market. Suddenly, while Koenma was in the middle of _that_ story, Machiko flinched.

"You okay, Matchy?" I asked.

"…Just something Dad told me before he left. I…can't quite remember it right now, but it was something about a Black Black Club. I think he'd been one of its victims."

Koenma's eyes rested on her briefly. "Is that so? He must have been an early one, and one of the smarter ones if he managed to escape on his own."

One name mentioned, Genkai had mentioned some time back and I hadn't paid mind to: Sakyo.

"You mean he was starting stuff when I was being kicked out of kindergarten?" Yusuke demanded.

"One way to look at it, yeah." Koenma sounded a little shaky when he answered.

And apparently, Sensui had seen humanity's darkest side when he went into that mission, and it drove him into a version of madness.

Then Yusuke set himself up for a joke, and Koenma obliged by throwing the joke himself. Apparently he'd chosen Yusuke as the next Spirit Detective because he knew Yusuke wouldn't think too much.

Machiko started snickering. Then Yusuke and Kurama sensed something…as did I…and we looked out the window.

* * *

Pardon the phrase…speak of the devil.

Kuwabara had to run in and save Seaman, and Kurama and Genkai were reading Sensui's lips to figure out what he was saying. Apparently the one they needed was among us!

I glared through the window. Kuwabara ran off, and Yusuke chased after him. I went to see Seaman again, spreading my wings – just my wings; I'd finally gotten practiced enough to where I didn't go full-demon to spread my wings – and gently folding one around his shoulders.

"You've…you've got wings?"

"Sometimes. I don't use them very often, and I've only flown once." I laughed at the memory.

Shizuru looked up at me. "Was that the time you described yourself as a dying duck?"

Seaman started giggling, only to stop as it apparently pulled awkwardly at his stomach.

* * *

**Machiko**

I dove out the window on vibrantly-striped wings and landed next to Kurama, letting my wings flare as an attempt to look more menacing.

A few words were exchanged, including Yusuke telling Keiko to stay against the wall.

"Machiko," Koenma glanced at me. "If you value those wings of yours, you'd best stay on the ground."

"I'm not an idiot." I was speaking low, and my wings were already receding into my back again. "I saw those pinpoint-shot whatevers the other guy had flicked through the window; if I took to the air, I'd be target practice for that guy. He'd either fill my wings with holes or go for a heart or head shot, depending on how interested he was in toying with me."

"Precisely."

I was shaking. I didn't know if I could stay still if any blood was shed, or what I'd do if I felt pain. I'd never actually been in combat against anything larger than those spirit insects.

Yusuke took the guy on first, and he kept getting deflected.

**Kamiko**

"Kuwabara's in danger!" Seaman insisted to us. He explained about how Kuwabara's power was what Sensui wanted. Then he turned to me. "Can't you fly down and get him out of there?"

"Did you hear us just now comparing my flying to that of a dying duck? I'm not that good a flyer yet. And besides that, the one time I flew – recently – I was lifting Kurama up to the top of the hospital, and I barely managed to pull that stunt off. Kuwabara'd be _way_ too heavy for me to lift off the ground right now, the best I'd be able to do would be to use my momentum to knock him flat!"

"Well, then we've got to warn them!" Boton threw the window open and called once. I spread my wings and got ready to leap past Boton, but I barely gained the wall with my feet before she grabbed hold of my tail. "Wait!"

And then I saw what she saw: Sniper, aiming for us with something! And I was already off-balance; Boton was using every bit of her weight counterbalancing me!

"Wait for it…if we don't time it right, we'll both still get hit…"

My sharp eyes caught sight of the first flick. "Now!"

Boton let go and scrambled back while loads of shots went in our direction. I scrambled around and clung to the underside of the balcony with morphed hands and already-clawed feet until the sounds of breaking glass and impacts stopped. Then I turned around and ran up, back onto the top of the wall and leaped back into the room, turning and springing onto the ceiling. "I don't dare try to fly down there now," I put my wings away, "he'd shoot me down easy!"

Shizuru came up with an idea. I volunteered to stay with Seaman. "I'm a screaming-bright target anyway."

**Machiko**

An energy ball streaked towards us from that jerk Sensui, and we barely had to move for it to go past us.

Kuwabara had one quip. "Guess all the training in the world can't account for bad aim."

Suddenly I stiffened. I had sharper eyes than most, and I'd tracked where it was going…and more important, what was in its path: Yusuke's apartment and my sister! I took off running, racing the energy ball! "_**Sis, there's a powerful attack coming! Make sure everyone's safe!**_"

_Will she hear me?_ That was the main reason I was racing the ball, hoping that I was in range.

The ball got there first, and I ended up skidding as I heard my sister's thoughts in my head. "_**We're fine, but Kuwabara's a target because of his power! Don't let Sensui take him!**_"

I rounded back and tore back towards them. I actually collided with him as he was running by. He outweighed me by a few pounds, so of course I didn't actually stop him so much as ricochet off of him and spin over to the side of the road. At least since we were both surprised, he didn't bother attempting to kill me at the same time.

I caught up with the three boys who ran past me a bit later. Yusuke was at least managing to deflect the guy's feet as Sensui was swinging at him.

I caught hold of Kuwabara's wrist. "Hey, Kuwabara…I've got a message for you from the girls and their patient."

"Hm? You mean they're okay?"

"Thanks to the twin telepathy I've got, yeah. Unfortunately, there's something else…" I whispered into his ear, "You're the target. Sensui wants to capture you and use your power to finish his tunnel."

"What?!"

"Just don't give him the opportunity to lay his hands on you, got it? I'm not telling you to leave, because I know you won't, but don't close in for combat."

"Alright, fine…I'll see what I can do."

While I watched, I thought about what else I'd picked up along my link. Kamiko had been in…a lot of pain.

Kuwabara did go rushing in, but at least he…kind of remembered what I'd told him. Though the power he'd been hoping to use…didn't appear.

I set a hand on my face as Kuwabara got kicked away. "What a moron. How's Shizuru put up with him?"

Kurama was next to dash in, brandishing a thorny whip. (Yes, this is my first time really seeing Kurama in action.)

The guy dodged, and then…the jerk stopped among a bunch of people and dared Kurama to use the whip around civilians.

Finally, I'd had enough. I put away my tail, but left my feet and legs alone. "Guys, let me try. He's not the only one who fights with his legs."

"Machiko, you've never fought before, at least not against a human opponent."

"Don't remind me, Kurama!" I rushed him. The main reason I was running was because it was the only way I could stay on my feet without my tail.

I leaped, and started raining down kicks from above.

I was annoyed that he was deflecting every single kick and not even flinching at the claws I bore. One flip backwards planted my feet again, but I wobbled dangerously off-balance.

The jerk just smirked at my wobble. "You have good form, but your technique is sloppy, like one who learned everything they knew from movies and video games. And how are you at defense?"

* * *

That was my cue to attempt to deflect _his_ feet. It was just like with Yusuke…only…I was getting hit more. I was deflecting maybe one kick out of three? I ended up taking on more fur-coated demon muscle under my clothing than I'd really wanted to, because it was the only way I could endure all those strikes. I was still going to end up with bruises on my sides.

Then he kicked me back, and I landed flat at Kurama's feet. He ran off, followed by Yusuke and Kuwabara. Kurama helped me up, but a motorcycle stopped between us and the chasers.

And Sniper was on the motorcycle, all ready to fight us.

Then Keiko ran up, providing a target that we didn't need around. The guy shot at her and then bailed. After making sure that she was okay, we got a reminder that we needed to get to Kuwabara.

I grinned. "Hey, Kurama, I know how we can get there quickly, but in order to keep from shocking civilians, I need some help."

He looked at me. "I'm listening."

I lifted a foot. "Let me see the end of that whip – the business end, you keep the handle."

Well, he passed it to me. "Careful."

"Of course."

I gripped it tight but carefully with my long toes. "Keep a good grip, but the moment you feel slack, get ready to jump off the other side of the bridge."

His eyebrows rose in understanding. "You're going to swing under the bridge and obtain your wings, and I'm to jump onto your back."

I nodded, hopped twice towards the bridge, and then flipped up and over the rail, keeping him from asking the next important question, which was "And how often have _you_ flown?"

The answer to that question was "More often than Kamiko, but still never with a passenger."

I only hoped Kurama was light enough for me to pull this stunt.

I swung out, felt the whip go taut, and swung back. Once I was in the shadow of the bridge, I got my tail and wings and let go. A few good flaps and I came out from under the bridge…

And felt weight descend on my back.

Kurama's sudden appearance caused my flight to wobble, but I stayed in the air and just kept my wings pumping.

Then Kurama knelt on my back and grabbed hold of my torn shirt. "How often have you flown?"

"…Saving…breath…for…flying."

He apparently read into what I didn't say. "I was afraid you'd say that. Listen, if it looks like we won't reach them before you run out of energy, don't kill yourself."

I nodded, but that was it.

* * *

As it turned out, we didn't make it in time – Kuwabara still wound up kidnapped.

And…it was my turn to faceplant under Kurama's weight.

Could today possibly get any worse?


	6. First Time Truly in Pain

First Time Truly in Pain

* * *

**Machiko**

I raced pell-mell after Yusuke, who had hijacked a bike and was chasing the jerks in a jeep who had Kuwabara. Just because my wings were tired out, didn't mean my legs were!

After a bit, I picked up the speed, passed Yusuke, and ran in front of him. "Hang on, Yusuke, you're about to hit a faster speed!" I twined the tip of my tail just below Yusuke's handlebars and started running even faster, dragging Yusuke along. A glance backwards told me that he'd taken his feet off the pedals, which were now spinning too fast for him to use safely, and was mostly paying attention to steering.

"Smart move, Yusuke – save your strength for the fighting!"

**Kamiko**

I lay on the floor, partially pinned by some rubble and bleeding in several locations. I was camouflaged…kind of; several of my injuries were making perfect disappearance difficult. It had only been through Machiko's warning and my intervention that Shizuru had avoided getting seriously hurt.

But…I was starting to fade out.

* * *

**Machiko**

We raced up hills after the jerks. I was gaining a little, never being more than a couple car-lengths behind them. Kuwabara yelled something about being in a pickup truck full of psychic cannibals.

"Hey, Stripey! Is this your only speed or something?"

"Burn rubber too fast, and that bike will crash or we'll both go out of control. I picked a pace I can hold indefinitely, while they're bound to run out of gas sooner or later."

"You can hold this speed forever? What happens if they speed up?"

I grinned back at him briefly before returning my attention to the road. "I guess I'd have to speed up, too, huh?"

* * *

Then we started going downhill. I jumped upwards, unwinding my tail from the handlebars and landed gripping Yusuke's shoulders with my feet. "Wheels pick up speed on declines better than roadrunner-feet. I'll hitch a ride with you now." With that, I leaned forward to lend my weight to our momentum.

Kuwabara and Yusuke started shouting a bit back and forth. Once we leveled out again, I jumped back into my original position and started running again. Yusuke yelled something at the people in the front seat, something along the lines of "pull over or I'll run you off the road." Granted, _I_ was "driving," not him, but it struck me as a good idea.

Then…I think Sniper shot Yusuke's bike! I lost enough speed to let the pickup get ahead of us again, let go quickly and left my tail extended out for Yusuke to grab.

At least he managed to catch it.

"Throw down a good yank, Yusuke – you've got to get a hold of my shoulders or you'll be dragged across the road!"

I felt a great deal of pressure on the tip of my tail…then he let out a primal yell and I felt for an instant that I was going to get yanked off my feet…and then his left hand slammed down on my shoulder, his right hand soon letting go and catching my other shoulder. "Giddyap!"

I ignored the horse reference and turned on the speed. "We're going to have to confront Sniper sooner or later anyway, but I want to get a bit more distance before I start trying to stop, or all my fur will get rubbed off when we hit asphalt. Just try to make sure I don't get hit!"

* * *

He took the hint. When I spared a glance at him over my shoulder, I saw that even though he was still streaming behind me like a banner, he was looking upside down at the guy. Every time Sniper fired off another shot, he'd squeeze one of my shoulders tighter, and I'd veer that way.

We dodged for a bit…then…Yusuke gripped both of my shoulders tightly. "Jump – he sent _five_ at us!"

For an instant, it was like time slowed down. I gathered myself…pushed off the ground…Yusuke got pushed against my back…I saw the shots hit the road ahead on either side of me…one, far right…two, far left…both about where I'd have been if I'd veered…three, lined up with left leg...four, lined up with right leg…both for if I hadn't moved…

_Where's shot number five?_

I got my answer a bare second later. A sharp pain lanced up my spine!

I shrieked, and my landing turned into a tumble that separated me and Yusuke. Both of us lost our shirts, and the fact that I'd gone demon-furry under my clothes was probably the only reason I didn't lose any skin…I also lost a bit of fur with that wipeout. Fortunately, my bra was durable enough to where I wasn't indecently exposed after that.

We stopped rolling, the pickup truck got away, and Sniper shot past us both, catching us inside a territory and…doing…something…to both of us.

When he stopped, Yusuke asked, "What'd you do to me?"

I stood up shakily – I may have been able to hold the previous speed indefinitely, but I'm not used to holding speed for so long – and looked back at my tail.

My tail's probably about as long as I'm tall, maybe a bit shorter than that. I'm five foot something, so that means it's at least four feet long. And the last couple feet of it was completely unresponsive; the point where it stopped obeying my brain had blood pouring from a small hole, right on a line between a black stripe and a white stripe.

_Bastard hit my tail!_

Then my stripes got disrupted by bull's-eye target spots! Fortunately, Sniper chose to demonstrate by shooting at Yusuke, because I was too distracted to deflect if he'd shot at me.

Sniper drove off, and Yusuke ran after him, shouting, "Hey, get back here! You don't scare me!"

I stood there a bit longer, shaking and staring at the marks.

* * *

**Kamiko**

When I woke up later, I was back in the apartment with Botan, Seaman, Genkai, Koenma and Kurama. I was lying on my stomach on the bed. And…while my wings were still torn up pretty badly, nothing else was bleeding; plus, my coloration had returned to something resembling normal.

"There you are," Genkai drew my attention. "I wasn't sure what good healing would do on your wings when you can put them away, so I didn't try."

I blinked at her. "Only my wings were hurt, not my DNA; putting them away will heal any injuries. It's the same with my tail." I glanced back at my tail and twitched it. It seemed fine.

"Your tail was self-explanatory."

"I'll put my wings away when I'm sure I've got the endurance for the pain that's definitely going to come from that." Then I stared around at them. "But…who found me?"

Kurama turned around. "I did. I caught the scent of blood and followed it to you, and threw the rubble off of you."

I pushed up onto my elbows. Something felt a little odd when I did that – not pain, not like it was anything to actually do with my body, but like something had slipped off my shoulder.

Suddenly, Kurama, Koenma and Seaman were having slight trouble controlling their expressions. I…had a guess as to what had happened. I looked down.

A faint strip was dangling by one end…and the entire bra structure on my left side had slipped dangerously.

A memory surfaced: I'd hit Shizuru in a flying tackle…the rubble came down…several sharp rocks sliced through my wings…and across my left shoulder…

_That particular sharp rock must have severed my bra strap._ "Aw man…now I have to mend that, and my other one's at home." I tugged the thing back into place – it wouldn't stay very well. Only elastic would have made it a perfect fit, and I couldn't include elastic.

Seaman explained to the others why Kuwabara was the new target. Everyone started working on plans. I cocked my head. "Something happened to Machiko: she's agitated. I think she's been injured; I'm not sure how – hang on..." I focused on tuning myself to my sister.

Then my colors changed. One spot: about halfway down my tail, a small red spot appeared.

"Her tail got hit?" Kurama sounded somewhere between surprised and impressed. "That would have taken some careful aim."

"It gets worse: without her tail fully operational, she can't run anywhere near as fast, and she won't be able to bank worth….anything. She'll practically be a sitting duck."

"Hold on," Botan sounded surprised. "What else is happening to your color?"

I stared down. Bull's-eye target marks had appeared in very specific locations: stomach, right arm, left arm, right ankle, left ankle…heart.

Besides those marks, everything else went white with fright. "She's in someone's territory, and she really _is_ a sitting duck! She's been marked by someone else's spirit energy!"

Everyone divvied up. I stayed in the room, for now…but I told them that I'd catch up with them as soon as I mended my bra strap.

Seaman made his choice and went to join up with them. Kurama would welcome him, I knew he would – he's such a sweetheart.

At least now I could take off my bra to properly mend it.

**Machiko**

I caught up with Yusuke…granted, I ran headlong into him.

"Watch it!"

"Sorry…I…I'm…"

"You're scared silly, that's what you're trying to say, right?"

I snapped back. "Well, I'm _sorry_ I never had any chance to practice combat before this! I didn't _have_ any training grounds to go to for technique refinement, or any back alleys where it was fight or die!"

Yusuke slapped me. Then he grabbed my shoulders. "Hey, I'm not exactly thrilled about this myself. But you've got to hold it together, or you'll just get killed that much faster."

I sighed. "What I was going to say was, I can't control my running with a hurt tail."

He stared at me. "You're kidding me. One bad shot to your ass, and now you can't hit Mach Five?"

I nodded. "I can technically heal my tail by shifting to human form, waiting for a few minutes, and shifting back; but I'm even more vulnerable as a human than I am now, and besides, I think the rock or whatever he shot is still in there so I don't dare try it!"

"Dammit!" That was mostly directed at the situation, so I ignored it.

* * *

We found a field, and nearly got hit by blades of grass! I had to twirl my tail about, trying to deflect blades of grass with my nearly-useless half like I'd been smacking bugs last time. Unfortunately, I wasn't quite as good with a busted tail. I'm still not sure _how_ it was hurt – had my spine gotten severed down there, or had that rock gotten lodged in a bone? Or in between bones, or whatever?

Anyway, I did get hit by two blades of grass…in my ankles.

As I fell to the ground with another cry, Yusuke glared at me, though I figured it was because of our situation. "Just stay down now! If you're on the floor, your remaining targets can't get hit!"

"Mmmk'y." I didn't even bother lifting my face. I just lay there. _Fabulous – I can't heal my ankles like my tail, I don't have another form that's missing legs!_

I heard a lot of Yusuke's yelling and general destruction, so apparently Sniper had decided that he was going to throw stuff at the spirit detective and ignore me.

That suited me just fine.

After a minute, though, something did occur to me, and I looked up. It looked like he'd destroyed whatever had been thrown at him. "Yusuke…do you have a minute?"

"Huh?" He came over and listened.

"Just being down won't save me. Anything could hit me in the back." I spread my wings and gained my claws. "You've got to get me into the air. If I'm moving, I'll at least be able to defend myself a bit better. All my remaining targets are on my upper body, which means that if the missiles are coming at me from the front, I can deflect them with my hands like you're doing."

"Your tail's used for steering when you do that, right? It'll be risky."

"As long as I stay airborne, I'll be fine."

"Okay…" He studied me for a second. Then he reached down and grabbed my neck. Hauling me up, he grabbed hold of my waistband with his other hand. "You ready?"

I partly spread my wings. "Yeah."

He launched me upwards as if I was a toy plane.

I spread my wings fully, caught air, and lumbered into the sky. My legs weren't useless, just my feet and ankles, so I was using them to steer and just letting my tail dangle.

I could feel blood running down the outside of my tail, though, and over my claw-like feet. I wondered how long I could manage to keep this up.

And knives were being thrown at us this time.

"Too bad you didn't think of this when Sniper was throwing rocks! You could have had a practice round!" Yusuke yelled.

I struck at knives left and right, smacking each one broadside and slashing them. My claws could best metal, and I was managing to destroy them.

_Heart, stomach, both shoulders; heart and stomach, I'm dead…shoulders, I'm as good as dead…_

Finally, the knife barrage ended.

I was barely staying in a hover. I was bad at hovering, my wings weren't designed for it: climbing, soaring, power-dives, parachuting, general travel and turning on a wingtip in a space barely big enough for me, sure, but not hovering. (I did my research on that last one; I have bat wings, and a bat can make a turn like that. I haven't had the opportunity yet to do so myself.)

(And I hope I live long enough to try.)

* * *

**Kamiko**

Once my bra was mended and my wings reset, I flew out to find the others.

Kurama had arranged for us to meet up with…someone. I'd still been airborne when he said that, so I never caught that. I'd power-dived to meet them from the air, camouflaging as I went so that nobody could see me coming, and landed in front of Botan with a snap of wings.

She jumped, as did Seaman and Koenma. Kurama flinched, and Genkai didn't even do that. I let my color return to normal as I put away my wings and tail. "Did anyone remember my shoes?"

"Ah…no. Nobody thought of them."

"Ah, well. Fake dragon-boots it is." I glanced down at my feet and focused. Instead of golden, I designed them in a couple shades of very dark gray. "There; now they won't draw too many stares and remarks of 'are those real?'"

A short laugh, and Koenma went off to make some preparations. I hoped we were all up to this challenge.

Genkai glanced down. "Kamiko, what's with your ankles? Did your sister get hurt again?"

I looked at the red spots that I'd left there for wanting to show them. "Yeah. You'll have to heal her when we find them, Genkai, because that's a spot we can't heal using shifting tricks."

"Understood."


	7. A Fast Demon Returns

A Fast Demon Returns

* * *

**Machiko**

I was flying over Yusuke, trying to simultaneously ignore and _not_ ignore the feeling that we were being watched.

And I was trying to stay in the air. This was getting hard, flying with dead weight; like flying while I had been carrying Kurama, only different.

We got back to the road. Then a semi was coming towards us.

"This is great, I can hitch a ride to the nearest phone booth. That's assuming the guy doesn't think I'm from a cult with all these stupid tattoos! Hey, Stripey, can you fly a bit higher so that you don't get spotted? You don't look like a hitchhiker."

I didn't answer; my breath was running a bit short. But I did climb a bit more.

Suddenly…

"Machiko, get back down here! I need some help – this semi's been sent by Sniper!"

_Say that five times fast._ I climbed a tiny bit more, backflipped, closed my wings and dove for him. "This will be cutting it close, Yusuke – back to the semi, and hold out your arms like you want the driver to shoot you!"

"Right, because it really _is_ a bullet!" But at least he did.

I fell behind him and in front of the semi, spread my wings again and effectively hugged him around the chest under his arms. A couple powerful flaps, and I was moving again. Fortunately I still had all of my momentum. _Un_fortunately, it wasn't much – I hadn't climbed _that_ high before I dove, I didn't have time while injured the way I am.

* * *

I swerved away from the road and started flying through the trees while still carrying Yusuke. And that semi was still hard on my injured tail.

"Matchy, you'd _better_ not lose your grip!"

I had never put away my claws; I deliberately let them pierce through his sides.

"Ow!"

"Which would you prefer – getting dropped or having a few little punctures? Genkai can patch up punctures later; the semi would just run right over you."

"Thanks for putting everything in perspective!"

Always sarcastic, that Yusuke.

* * *

Then we saw him up on a cliff – with a gun!

"I see, so killing me with a truck wasn't enough, huh?" Yusuke yelled. He was the one with the breath for it, after all.

As it turned out, he didn't shoot _us_…he shot the _**fuel truck!**_

I had just barely enough presence of mind to turn my wings so that they'd catch the explosion and drag us upwards. Once we had the hot air, we shot far up – higher than I'd ever had opportunity to fly, with or without a passenger!

"Whew…thanks, Machiko – huh?"

_Oh…he must have noticed that my wings are trembling._ "I've…I'm coming to my limits, Yusuke. I'm sorry, but I absolutely have to land."

"Hey, hey, _hey_! We're _not_ going to fall out of the air!"

"I'm not an idiot! I'm going to try for a gradual glide, but I don't know how far I can carry it. If we're lucky, we'll glide right out of his territory before he finds us. Knowing my luck today, though…I wouldn't count on it."

Then I thought I spotted something below. "Huh?"

"What's up?"

"Did I say glide? Get ready, that's going to turn into a dive – I'm going to drop us right on Sniper's head."

"Oh, bring it on!"

"When I say kick, I need you to swing your legs backwards; that'll get both of us with our heads pointing down like a dive's supposed to be, and hopefully your feet will hit my tail and get it into the right position too."

"Right."

"Ready…and…_kick!_" I kicked my own feet backwards and felt a sharp pain in my tail. _Well, he hit it._ Our heads angled downwards, and I partially closed my wings. _I have to keep this relatively controlled, or I'll rip my wings off when I try to backwing._

We dove downwards. I had good eyes, and I talked it out to Yusuke. "Hiei! He's walking up to Sniper on his own, even though the guy's pointing a gun at him! Don't use your Spirit Gun, I have to see this!"

* * *

The gun went off down there several times, but Hiei dodged every time, and then tagged the guy with his sword! That was around the time I had to open my wings and backwing to a landing – not on Sniper's head, but in front of Sniper, a yard or so ahead. Hiei knocked the guy out instead of actually killing him, and then said some nonsense about protecting the trees…though it's possible he meant it.

Yusuke was the one standing. I'd wrapped my legs around his waist and had shifted the grip of my hands from puncturing his sides to hanging onto his shoulders – that had taken some effort, my hands had gotten stiff from hanging on so hard. My tail was lying on the ground, and my wings were fanned slightly for balance.

"Look at it; the portal to the demon world will be open soon. And maybe I'll be able to return home."

_I almost feel sorry for him._

Then Yusuke dropped to his knees and punched the ground. "Dammit!"

I don't remember most of what happened, besides that half of what Yusuke and Hiei did next…was while I was still clinging to Yusuke's back like a monkey. The end result was that Yusuke had ended up with his foot on one of my wings thanks to an off-balance maneuver, and Hiei's swordpoint touching his neck!

After a moment, Hiei let Yusuke up, but the two men ended up trying to stare each other down.

I closed my wings and wished that my ankles would let me stand. Because then I could walk away from this – this wasn't how I'd planned to cross paths with Hiei again, this was humiliating.

Then Hiei's eyes started glowing blue, and his whole little body started pulsing with energy!

I didn't say anything. If Yusuke decided he wanted to try to fight this little guy, he wasn't going to listen to me.

Hiei ditched his cloak. "It's been too long since our last fight." An energy wave from the demon pushed us backwards, maybe farther than normal because I'd spread my wings to catch it.

That did it. When Yusuke gained his feet again, I let go, falling hard on my butt and quickly putting away my wings before I fell over backwards and got stuck there.

_Hiei, you've got some gorgeous pecs and amazing abs, surprising in one so small!_

I just sat there watching as the two men battled it out. Absently, I slid my hands down to my ankles and carefully pulled free the blades of grass that had technically still been stuck there – I hadn't had time to get them out before.

* * *

First Yusuke was getting pounded, but he came running right back for more and laid a few punches of his own on Hiei!

_When you don't know who to root for, keep your mouth shut._

Finally, there was a respite. Yusuke looked exhausted, while Hiei barely looked like he was breaking a sweat. Then Hiei started licking an injury he'd gotten on his right arm, as if he was a cat.

I cocked my head. _Well, that's almost cute._

* * *

I'm still not sure what had just happened. But apparently Hiei had been trying to drive a point home to Yusuke, and it had finally worked.

Then Yusuke started laughing and giggling something about telling everyone that Hiei would come back to save us, "you big softie, hee hee hee, or should I say little softie?"

_Hiei…hit him for me, would you?_

I could almost read Hiei's mind: "I should have slit your throat when I had the chance."

Then Yusuke sobered up. "Really: thank you Hiei, I needed that kick in the ass." Hiei put his cloak-thing back on and nearly left. Then Yusuke baited Hiei into staying with us by mentioning that Chapter Black video. What a bribe, and he fell for it.

Then a couple of demons appeared – really ugly ones!

I went tense. Yusuke and Hiei were mobile, but…it had been thanks to Yusuke that I'd gotten in the air in the first place, and I wasn't up to trying to fly _again_ anyway! The best I'd be able to manage was a crawl!

* * *

Why was I worried? Even with both of them pounded by each other, they still had the energy to vaporize those two uglies.

"As much as I loathe the humans," Hiei remarked, "I think I loathe tourists even more."

"Great. And on that note," Yusuke remembered my existence, "I think it's your turn to carry Stripey. The guy you knocked out did a number on her ankles, and she can't walk."

I blinked. "You sure I won't squash him? I might be light, but I'm bigger than he is!"

"Are you trying to imply I don't have the strength to carry you?" Hiei put away his sword and hefted me up into his arms!

I confess, I squeaked and caught hold of his scarf-cape. "Mind my tail! Thanks to a different shot of that freak back there, I can't move it very well! Um…Yusuke? Can you help my tail up? I can probably hold onto Hiei's waist, but it'll need an assist."

"Okay." I didn't see where he went, but I felt him catch hold of my tail – the injured side, I had to hold back a hiss – and started the twirl up and around. One extra tug, looping the injured side over the uninjured side, effectively trapped Hiei in a circle. "There you go – now there's no way he can step on it."

"…Ow." I glared at him.

Hiei was glaring, too.

* * *

We finally made it back to the others. Once we were in sight of them, the guys started running. I clung tighter, and felt my tail attempt to tighten its hold.

"Steady."

That was all Hiei said.

"Hey, if I _could_ run, I _would!_ I'm faster than you!"

"Who said?"

"I've got longer legs than you, of _course_ I'm faster!" Actually, I didn't know that. I was…okay, I was trying to provoke him a bit. If he didn't like nice, he was going to get nasty.

We properly joined up, and Hiei turned my ankle-side towards Genkai. "Here – fix these before I lose my patience."

I blinked at Seaman. "So you're on our side, huh? Decided humans weren't so bad after all?"

"Something like that."

After a minute, Genkai tapped my knee lightly with a fingertip. "There. You can stand now. Now let's see that tail of yours."

It didn't surprise me that she knew: Kamiko probably sensed it and told her.

Hiei dropped my legs and let my feet hit the ground. That sent a shock through my newly-healed ankles, but nothing awful. I tugged at my tail, attempting to untie it. "For a guy who couldn't see what he was doing, Yusuke, you tied this really well."

Yusuke laughed as Hiei grabbed hold of the hurt end and gave it a toss to unwind it.

Genkai lifted my tail and studied the hole as I added, "I'm pretty sure the bullet or whatever is still in there, which is why I haven't made any attempt to heal it."

"Well, your instincts were right on that count – it _is_ still in there. Kurama?"

The red-haired fox-boy knelt, and my tail was draped across his knee. "Botan, do you have any tweezers with you?"

"Um…yes…"

"May I use them for a second?"

"Of…course."

I saw a flash of steel and shut my eyes. I know my heart rate kicked it up a notch, and I have a fast heartbeat to begin with. "Talk to me, Genkai…what had that shot done to my tail? I can't move anything past that injury."

"You're still feeling pain in your tail's entirety, right?"

"Y-yes…" Like right now, in fact…

"That means your spinal cord wasn't severed; that shot had lodged itself between two of your vertebrae, making it impossible to bend, and it was pushing on the spinal cord. Apparently, right when it entered you started bending your tail away from it, and that made your bones grab it, keeping it from penetrating all the way through your spine."

"Well…that's…good,…right?"

"Done."

I turned to look at Kurama. The bloody-tipped tweezers were holding a tiny ball; its original color was lost in the fact that my blood was all over it.

"Okay, good." I straightened up and focused for a second. My tail slowly absorbed itself into my body. This was still extremely painful, but I knew it had to be done if I was going to heal.

Finally, I was standing there, a perfectly ordinary human being with vibrantly-striped claw-feet.

"There. Now that I've ditched the tail, I have to wait about five minutes before I bring it back." I started to take a step.

That was my cue to wobble off balance and fall on my ass, _again._

Hiei laughed. Only a little, but it was enough to sting my pride.

"Hey, I hate taking on my human form so I hadn't practiced with it, okay? I hate using my human form almost as much as I hate going down stairs!"

I think that last one just made it worse, as he just kept on laughing a bit harder.

I growled. _This is going to be one long, hard courtship._

* * *

**A/N: Got you there, didn't I? Yes, this is where she's going with her muttering to herself and her plans - she wants to win Hiei's heart...if she can find it.**


	8. Gamemaster's Fall

Gamemaster's Fall

* * *

**Kamiko**

"Before we proceed," Kurama interrupted Machiko's glare, "we must go over what we know of our enemy. We know there were seven of them to begin with. Yusuke took out Doctor."

Hiei added, "And _I_ did away with Sniper."

I wondered how literal that was.

"Yes…" Kurama went on. "Seven minus two leaves five."

Botan gestured at Seaman. "And Matari's with us now, so that makes four."

"We know that they'll head back to Demon's Door Cave. That's where we'll go to intercept them and retrieve Kuwabara."

When Seaman told us about how Gourmet's power worked, Botan wasn't the only one to flinch – my colors flashed in a kaleidoscope of negative emotions.

I didn't like where this was going, _at all._ Especially not the two-days-until-Hell part.

Machiko was still sitting on the floor where she'd fallen. She was probably waiting until she could get her tail back. I was fine leaving my wings alone – technically I'd come down to the others earlier with still-tattered wings, because they'd been whole enough for my backwinging to work. That had been on par with a controlled fall.

The wind picked up.

"There's that familiar wind again," Hiei suddenly said, sounding nostalgic. "I think two days would be overly optimistic."

_Thank you, Hiei, that makes me feel _so_ much better._

* * *

Yusuke, Kurama, Hiei and I were going to go into the cave first to scout it out. Then Seaman volunteered to go and lead the way.

Hiei almost made me laugh. "And why…the hell should we trust you?"

After a hesitation, Seaman answered him. "Because I'm more…indebted to Mister Kuwabara than anybody."

Yusuke said the kid could come along. Then…

"Yusuke. Do you remember the last time you rushed into something without thinking?" Genkai stated.

"Which time was that?"

I face-palmed, causing a handprint-shape on my face to change color to a shade closer related to orange.

Well, we turned to go. Then I heard a single call. "Kamiko!"

I paused, glancing over my shoulder at Genkai. "Hm?"

"Keep hidden. From what I've observed from you, you don't actually know how to fight."

I nodded. "That was already part of the plan, but if this plan works we'll need to schedule self-defense lessons with you at the least."

We went off. "Guys," I looked at them. "If necessary, I think I can manage to hide all of you behind my wings, should we need to avoid notice." Actually, I'm pretty sure I could only manage to hide two…but I was at least going to offer…

"Thanks," Yusuke shrugged, "but I'm not sure that'll be necessary."

* * *

When we got to the cave…Kurama almost set me giggling. "So this is the entrance to Hell. Somehow it's drearier than I expected." Then he looked at Seaman. "Matari, approximately how long will it take to get to Itsuki?"

"If we proceed quickly, but with caution, it should take us two hours to get there."

Yusuke all but threw a fit. "What?!"

"That is…" Seaman looked worried, "if we don't encounter any problems along the way."

After a minute of silence, Yusuke demanded, "Well, what are we waiting for?"

It was rhetorical, but Hiei answered it. "You to stop talking."

"Then let's go – now!" That last word of Yusuke's was said through gritted teeth. I faded out, and we went in. Our shadows were long on the ground, so I dropped to all fours and creeped that way instead – the fewer tall-people shadows were seen, the better.

When we ran out of outside light, I stood up again, but got close to the wall.

Then we came to a fork in the tunnel. Yusuke asked which way, and Seaman answered, "To the right."

I was on the left wall. I slipped to the other side so that I'd stay with them. Kurama dropped a seed, and it grew quickly into a pretty glowing flower that he called a lamp-weed so that we could find our way out again.

It did crazy things to my shadows.

Then we went further in. After a few paces in darkness, Kurama looked in my direction. He caught me staring. "Are you all right, Kamiko?"

"I'm…I'm fine."

"You…might want to keep your eyes mostly shut while we're in here. Your eyes…glow, a little, in the dark."

My eyes got bigger. "They do? I didn't know that. It'd probably be brighter if I was in demon form." Then I let my eyes fall mostly shut and kept walking.

* * *

I stayed with them carefully as we went through more tunnels and Kurama dropped more seeds. Then Seaman suddenly stopped us when we were nearing the halfway mark. A door was ahead of us that didn't belong!

Then the door started talking like a video game! Something about a goblin king, or seven heroes or something…

"That's peculiar," was Kurama's only comment.

But the voice triggered Yusuke's memory as to where he'd seen the door before – a special video game called Goblin City.

I let my color darken and lighten strategically about edges of my body like an outline. "This is probably somebody's territory, which means it doesn't matter overmuch if I'm camouflaged or not, they'll know I'm here."

Then the twerp declared that we needed seven people to even enter!

I rolled my eyes. But…

Kurama looked at my glistening form. "If I'm reading your color correctly in this light, something's troubling you. What is it?"

I was quiet for a minute. Then I finally sighed. "I…don't play video games…and I'm not a fighter."

We went back to get another couple of people. Once we left the cave, my color change was more noticeable: an uneasy pale version of the tunnel's badly-lit walls.

* * *

When we went back in, we brought Genkai and Kaito with us.

I closed my eyes for a second while the automated message played again. "The only way I can do any good is if I get a flying game. You know, one of those things where the entire point is to avoid obstacles and hit your head on stars?"

Yusuke glanced at me. "I thought you didn't play video games."

Kurama looked at me as well. "And _I_ thought you'd only truly flown once in your life."

"I didn't say I didn't know about different kinds of video games; and I also definitely said that'd be where I'd do _any_ good."

We went in…to a large near-empty room, where the only occupant was a kid in an odd costume.

"I may be small, but my game talent is huge!"

Yusuke's probably the only person in this entire room who's played the game before. Sheesh.

Oh, Kurama's played it, and so has Seaman, and so had Kaito…and Genkai! That last one surprised me along with everyone else.

As for ability…Yusuke usually got stuck in the middle, Genkai had made it to the end about twice, Kaito's done well, and I quote, "seventy-six percent of the time," and Kurama…had about the same skill level.

* * *

It was decided that Genkai, Seaman – I had a hard time thinking of him by his actual name – and Yusuke would take on the first three challenges, while Kaito and Kurama would hang back and wait.

I sat down on the floor against the wall, vanishing completely from sight as the spinner started. "I'll wait here."

"Sports – Tennis – Level 7!"

Seaman volunteered!

Gamemaster pulled a bad joke greeting Seaman, Seaman shook hands with his demon opponent, and the tennis match started.

It was like watching TV – and Seaman was one of the stars!

When Seaman finally won, he delivered a line to the little kid. Somehow, I figured Gamemaster would blow it off.

The spinner was started again.

"A classic battleship-fighter game," Genkai sounded so pleased with herself. "I could beat these games with one hand stuck in a vise!"

_Well,_ I thought as Genkai stepped forwards and took her place at the game controls, _let's see how good she is._

And suddenly Genkai was put in a helicopter to play the game! My long hair whipped backwards, and I suddenly felt an extra set of eyelids close – and yet I could still see!

_I've got a third eyelid like birds do! How come I've never noticed this? …Because I've never flown faster than a person could walk before, and when I'd gone into that dive with tattered wings, my eyes were narrowed in concentration, so the third eyelid couldn't close._

_Well, at least this means I don't have to blink…I'm watching this with my eyes closed! I should take up gaming myself, I'll probably be unbeatable thanks to this little trick!_

And it was a good thing I didn't have to blink – Genkai was amazing at this game!

"Geez, Grandma…you hiding some skills under that witch-hair?" Yusuke sounded impressed.

"I had to have something to do on rainy days!" was her only retort.

When she won the game, the Gamemaster had one remark that was part impressed, part insulting. "Hey, you're pretty good for an old nobody!"

The spinner started up again after Yusuke insulted the twerp back – "Take your dunce horns and go sit on a time-out!"

"Action-battle," I heard the first call and I figured Yusuke would take this one. "King of the Mountain, Level 1!"

Sure enough, Yusuke went up. …Actually, considering the other two who were to fight the weaker demons had already gone, maybe it was a good thing Yusuke's challenge was a fighting game.

* * *

Yusuke won…eventually. He didn't do as good as we'd hoped, but at least he won.

As he walked away from the controls, he had one remark. "Please…I've had crazier fights in real life!"

I cocked my head. "Maybe you should teach Machiko!" _Maybe Machiko should have come along – she's probably snuck out of the house to play video games with her allowance more often than I've run to the broom closet to hide a color-explosion!_

_**That's an exaggeration, but probably accurate enough. What's the game? Demon City? Yeah, I've played that. And yeah, I knew about the third-eyelid thing, I use it when I'm running...and yes, when I'm gaming. Got a couple of high scores thanks to it.**_

Then Gamemaster ditched his robe to play the game with us himself. Kaito's only quip was that it would have been more authentic if he'd kept the robe on.

Kurama nailed it. "The other three rounds were necessary to follow the game's script…but _this _is the part of the game he's looking forward to."

Then Kurama told Yusuke that he'd need to start working on a Plan B, in case he and Kaito failed to beat the Demon King! I stood up and tapped Kurama's shoulder, still camouflaged. "Kurama? If nothing else, Machiko's played; she can probably channel her spirit through me and run one final round. She didn't tell me how good she was, though, so…"

"I understand."

I just stood there off Kurama's shoulder as the spinner started again.

* * *

The spinner turned up the Master Quiz game, and the kid started complaining about it being his least favorite.

Kaito took the kid on. I was worried, and it was causing my color to start graying. (In case people are starting to wonder why I keep mentioning gray as a worried color, when earlier I'd said gray was exhaustion, it mostly depends on the rest of the colors; if it's a light gray, it means worry. Medium gray is exhaustion.)

"He just said this was his least favorite game," Kurama remarked. "Yet he still seems happy and at ease."

The twerp…apparently didn't use his power much, according to Seaman; Sensui hadn't wanted him to.

Kaito did well at first…because the kid stepped back and let him answer a few questions without participating. But suddenly he was whipping Kaito at the game - completely! Hiei was going to try to unplug the game, but he was reminded of what happens when one acts outside the rules of a territory. He still tried slashing the screen, but it kept on working.

Then Kaito lost. That was when my color went white.

After an odd remark from Kurama, though, Yusuke got me to giggle and my color to return to normal. "You know, Kurama, I'm going to start charging you money for being vague."

The kid wasn't going to kill us – not if we opted to keep playing! This was a stall, not necessarily a kill-shot!

Hiei had one remark as he walked over to the wall and sat down. "I know as much about games as I do about hugs and puppies, and care for them even less. Wake me for the end of the world."

* * *

I glanced at Kurama again as the spinner started yet again. "Kur…a…ma…"

"Yes, Kamiko?"

"You're…planning…something."

"Calling it a plan would be an exaggeration, but yes."

The spinner stopped. "Puzzle, 3-7, Level G. Which one of you will play? There's three left…and one of you's actually sleeping! Not that I couldn't beat you at 3-7 in _my_ sleep!"

"I'll do what's best," Kurama said, before starting forward.

"Kurama, hang on!" I caught his wrist and he looked back.

For a moment, we just stood there. My color had gone from normal to something just a shade darker than what I'd labeled "flesh tone." "Um…"

"Yes, Kamiko? I still have to play, you know."

"I know, um…" Finally, I made up my mind. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Good luck." Then I ran to the wall and sat down next to Hiei, my color very definitely turning my "shy" hue of pink.

Gamemaster had one response to that. "Bleh…_girls!_"

I listened as Kurama asked just the right questions to learn that the kid knew nothing of what was going on, and then hit the kid with the knowledge that he'd die if he lost here.

_Well…Gamemaster needed to know that eventually…still…Kurama, you're fully capable of being ruthless._ And yet…I wouldn't take back that kiss; I still loved him.

* * *

I watched as Gamemaster's board filled up slowly and he kept missing moves. _If he somehow comes out on the other side of this mess alive, I hope his memory gets erased – _no_ kid should have to live with the knowledge that they could die until they're at least sixteen!_

* * *

Kurama won. More appropriate to say…Gamemaster lost.

The whole place went bang, leaving us back in the cave complex again.

Kaito and Genkai went back out, taking Gamemaster's body with them, and we five resumed our trek. I kept casting glances at Kurama. His face was hard…angry.

He hadn't enjoyed doing that, not in the slightest.

* * *

We went into the final cavern. By this point, I'd abandoned camouflage in favor of white; white as pure-driven snow.

The stark-white of complete and utter terror.


	9. An Upset Stomach

_**An Upset Stomach**_

* * *

**Kamiko**

Okay, okay, saying that white is always fear for me is stretching it – I have two different color-reactions for fear: vanishing into my surroundings, and some color that completely contrasts with my surroundings that's trying to make me look too dangerous to mess with. White was generally the go-to for my "I'm dangerous, keep away from me" look, but it comes with an extra trait that hadn't appeared just yet this time, in no small part because nobody had officially given me their attention yet. I was white instead of camouflaged because…the energy in this particular cave was strange – it was keeping my camouflage from working properly.

Sensui was just talking about his movie. Eventually he stood up and turned around, but his attention was on Yusuke, so I didn't react any further.

The demons waiting on the other side of the portal were more worrisome. C-class demons were doing their best to grab Kuwabara, who was tied up in a boat practically right next to the portal.

Then Sensui "encouraged" the demons to pull back again, and delivered some shot at Hiei and Kurama. If I was reading it right…he'd just implied that the two had started out as lower-class demons without any intelligence. Somehow…I doubted Hiei was just going to take that. Kurama I was less sure about.

Weirdly enough, neither demon reacted.

After a bit of talking, Sensui's eyes roved over to me. "Now…I wonder what class you might be."

One of my feet slid backwards, dragging furrows into the ground with its claws. And the final touch to my "I'm dangerous, keep away from me" look appeared.

Multi-colored eye-spots opened all over me. I knew from experience – test runs, technically – that those eye-spots could and would "blink" at random intervals individually or in pairs, adding to the creep factor and hopefully making everyone or everything that would attack me think twice about doing so.

Funny thing about those eye-spots…I actually can see through them…kind of. It isn't perfect, and I have to be thinking about it.

He smirked, and let his gaze drift elsewhere.

Then he called Gourmet from the boat and the guy landed next to him. I couldn't believe what Sensui said next – if we managed to kill this guy, we'd get Kuwabara back!

Gourmet started walking towards us.

I was shuddering. My third eyelids had closed, so that I wouldn't have to blink and potentially expose myself to a sudden danger.

I heard Kurama mutter to Yusuke under his breath. Something about not trusting Sensui's words, making a push for Kuwabara the first chance and in the meantime play along.

Then Gourmet started talking to Seaman – saying stuff that there was no way he should have known!

Next he turned to Kurama and started saying something that was apparently right out of the fox's head! How Kurama was still torn up with guilt about Gamemaster, and embarrassed about how he'd had to do that!

_When did he – he got Murota, didn't he?_

"Bingo! Haven't you been wondering where he's been since the hospital let him out?"

I flinched, my base color starting to take on a green tint. _If he keeps that up, I'm going to be sick!_

"Eating my teammates?" Yusuke growled. "That's on my Ass-Kick List!" He started forwards…

And Kurama stopped him! "I'll take this one, Yusuke. Don't argue, for I am not in the mood."

_Kur…a…ma?_

"Ooh…kay?"

Kurama stepped forward. For a few seconds, Gourmet and Kurama just stood there looking at each other.

Then Kurama reached under his hair and yanked free…a rose?

_So that's why he always smelled like roses. I wondered about that, it's not exactly a common cologne scent for a boy._

Kurama closed his eyes next and went completely still. Gourmet looked a little bewildered.

Suddenly Hiei appeared in my field of vision! His feet landed lightly on my hips and his hands snapped forwards – his left hand seized my right bra strap so that he'd stay upright and his right hand covered my mouth!

…Mind-reading isn't something I can only do with Machiko. But with everyone else, it requires a combination of physical contact and eye contact.

And at that moment, Hiei was doing both.

"_I don't __**know**__ what Kurama's going to do, but sometimes his fighting can get rather graphic."_ With the word "graphic," I got the sense of every bloody-fight-scene movie I'd ever seen or heard of. _"With what your color's doing right now, if you see something of that sort, it's likely you'll either throw up or pass out, and that's a distraction that Yusuke and the other humans on our side don't need. Just keep looking at my eyes."_

_Oh._

Then Hiei's hand left my mouth and started towards my other bra strap.

"_**Steady with that one, Hiei, that strap had gotten sliced recently, and the mending was a rush job. I'm not sure how secure the stitches are.**__"_

Hiei's hand didn't change direction, but he grabbed my shoulder instead of the strap.

I heard some strange sound behind me, followed by a loud thud.

"Can I look now?" I asked softly.

He looked over his shoulder. "Depends: how are you on decapitation?"

I swallowed, starting to feel a little bit sicker.

His eyes tracked back over to me. I saw reflected in his eyes that my face was a darker shade of green than before. "That's what I thought."

I let my eyes fall shut. "You can get down now, though."

I felt his left hand's fingers walk up to my shoulder, and then his weight left and I heard his feet hit the ground a bit away as if pretending he hadn't done that.

_I'll ask him _why_ he suddenly took an interest in my well-being later._

"He took out Gourmet so quickly! I didn't see the whip until it was all over!"

I fought to keep my eyes shut – I didn't want to know what had happened.

"Rely on impulse," Kurama spoke, "and not even your thoughts can betray you. Now come out, Toguro!"

_Huh?_

"Did you think I wouldn't notice? I could smell your stench since we entered the cave!"

Then the strangest-sounding laughter started resounding through the cave!

"Kamiko!" Hiei snapped.

His timing was pretty good – I was just about to open my eyes, and his snapping my name got me looking at him instead of in the direction of the laugh.

The next set of sounds had me fixing my gaze squarely on the side of Hiei's head, keeping me from seeing what was going on.

"Very good, Kurama," an unfamiliar voice echoed, "your powers have certainly improved even in your human form, though I must say, the red hair's not as pretty as the silver!" And then more laughter bounced off the walls.

"You can look now, if you want," Hiei said in an undertone, "but I wouldn't recommend it to a virgin fighter like yourself. You're likely to find it…disturbing."

I glanced. And then my head wrenched back around and I stared outright.

Gourmet's body was standing, its original head sliced off and leaving only the lower jaw. But another head had grown from the new opening, one with a gray face and matching wavy hair.

I felt an odd sound come from my throat. Glancing at my hand, I saw that my color was quickly going into green-gray.

I…think Toguro was explaining to us what had happened to him, with Sensui participating in the story. I wasn't listening. I was fighting to keep my stomach under control…and it was a losing battle. What didn't help was I couldn't look away.

Then Kurama spoke again. "That is enough."

_I agree._ I spun and ran to another side of the cave. I had no choice but to lose my lunch.

Obviously, while I was doing…that…I missed the next part of the show.

I heard Toguro yell something about "the fox thinks he can finish me," but I remained in my corner, leaning over a rock and trying to settle again.

* * *

After a bit, deadly quiet came into the room.

I turned around and started walking back. There was a smokescreen taking up a lot of the space over there.

Every step was unsteady, and then I ended up sitting down without ever making it even as far as Seaman. _Man, I hate it when something makes me _that_ sick to my stomach!_

After a bit, Toguro started making a lot of noise.

"That freak's screams are all I hear!" Yusuke complained. "Either he's beating the snot out of Kurama, or someone found out where he's ticklish!"

Then Kurama emerged from the smokescreen and walked over to me. "Are you all right, Kamiko?"

I swallowed once. "I…I'm fine. Just…seeing…_that_…was too much for me."

He held out his hand. "Here; on your feet."

Once I was up, he kept supporting me over to the others. As we went, I looked at my hand again. My color was returning to…huh. I still had my blinking eye-spots, but my base color was returning to gold. Apparently, somewhere during that mess, I'd stopped being the level of terror that had caused the white to begin with.

"I'd sure like to know who he's screaming at," Yusuke glared at the smokescreen again. "I've got a few ideas."

_I'll bet. If I never see that form again, it'll still be too soon._

Then the smoke cleared.

There was that hideous form…held in place by some strange tree-thing!

I spun and hid my face in Kurama's shoulder, gripping his shirt. Thanks to brief glances from certain eye-spots, I could see my base color had gained a tint of green again with that sight.

"It's the Sinning Tree," Kurama said, as he started rubbing my back.

"The Sinning Tree?" Yusuke repeated. "Sounds a bit heavy."

"It ensnares the mind with visions of wickedness, while it sucks away your life."

"Wow, that's freaky."

Seaman asked, "He still thinks he's fighting you, even now while he's all wrapped up?"

"Yes."

Yusuke had the next question. "But how'd you get him hooked up on it?"

"I used my Rose Whip to plant the seed inside him when I ripped off Gourmet's skull."

I shuddered against him, and he actually put his arms around me. That had been some imagery I hadn't needed.

And I hated Yusuke's joke: "Wow – talk about planting ahead!"

"Clever," Hiei snidely remarked. "The smokescreen wasn't just to hide your whereabouts – it was a catalyst for the tree's hallucinations to take effect."

"I didn't want to leave things to chance," Kurama wrapped up, tightening his grip on me a little. Then he started walking, leading me somewhere I couldn't see. "The tree won't stop until its host is dead. As you said, Toguro, your regenerative powers make you unable to die. You will suffer for eternity here, torn between your hate and your agony…and so be it. Rogues like you deserve to be damned."

I wrapped my arms around his chest and clung tightly, feeling my shaking ratcheting up a notch. I…wasn't exactly scared at that moment, weirdly enough. I…I couldn't analyze my feelings. They were too complex. I could only imagine what it looked like from the outside.

* * *

**Kurama**

I looked down at the top of Kamiko's head when she hugged me. The eye-spots had vanished, but her colors were shifting through a few different hues. She was clearly very emotionally disturbed right now. I remembered what Murota had said about her colors when he'd plucked the thoughts from her mind. It hadn't been a complete list, not by any stretch of the imagination, but fear-white was involved, along with…hm – rose and violet.

That was definitely strange. Rose-pink she'd said meant either shyness or embarrassment…and Murota had said red was full embarrassment, so pink stood a better chance of meaning shy, but…what did violet mean? And this was the strangest time to be shy.

"Kamiko?"

Her colors stopped rotating when I spoke. Then scarlet dominated, and she let go and leaped backwards. "Sorry…sorry…didn't mean to…um…ahem…" she couldn't make eye contact with me.

"Remember to breathe, Kamiko," Yusuke remarked. "I hear it's in style right now. And not so you'd notice, but there's kind of a demon tunnel we need to get closed?"

She glanced towards the portal again. Her color returned to the white with rainbow eye-spots, and her jaw was set in determination.

"Right. Let's do this."

Her voice trembled. I remembered Genkai saying that Kamiko didn't know how to fight. But she was clearly choosing not to let her fear control her.

_She's braver than she gives herself credit for._

_But will it be enough?_


	10. Watching Insanity

_**Watching Insanity**_

* * *

**Kamiko**

I was relieved when the Sinning Tree sent out more branches or whatever and twined them about Toguro's upper body, for a twofold reason: it muffled his shrieks and hid the stomach-wrenching appearance of his head sprouting from Gourmet's…neck and jaw.

"Such is the nature of this tree," Kurama finished. "Only your sins can hurt you."

"Hey, uh, Kurama?" Yusuke asked. "If I ever did something that pissed you off, I'm sorry."

I hid my mouth behind my hand, trying not to giggle.

"Me, too!" Seaman added.

Then I thought about what Kurama had said a bit more carefully, and shuddered. "Me three."

Yusuke yelled at Sensui next. "Your End-of-the-World party is dwindling, Sensui, and I doubt you want to be plant food! Give Kuwabara back to us like you promised!"

I sensed something coming…something fast. "_**Hello?**__"_ I deliberately thought. "_**Sis, is that you?**_"

"_**You didn't seriously think I'd let you and Hiei take all the fun, did you?**_"

There was an interesting undercurrent to the name "Hiei." "_**Well, as long as you're coming, I think you'll have to rescue Kuwabara. It's highly unlikely Sensui is going to give him to us.**_" I broadcast an image of Kuwabara in the boat and the portal behind him.

"_**Right!**_"

Although as it happened, we got Kuwabara back in the strangest misdirection ever. Kurama was trying to get info out of Kuwabara about how he'd gotten from the boat to here, but the info was lacking.

I suddenly realized through the link I had with my sister…she was still coming…she knew thanks to me that we had Kuwabara…she was going to rush Sensui!

"…Scrap!"

"Is something wrong, Kamiko?" Kurama turned his gaze on me.

"Um…Machiko's coming."

Then a strange shadow approached us from the lake!

"Okay," Yusuke sounded nervous, "another thing on my Weird List just got checked off!"

Then a strange mouth-type thing opened beneath us!

"Yup, there goes another one!" Yusuke yelped as we all fell into it!

I sprouted my wings as a natural reflex to falling. "Grab hold, you guys!"

Seaman grabbed one of my ankles, Kurama grabbed my other one, and Yusuke grabbed hold of my tail. I beat my wings hard trying to stay up, but the weight was too much for me.

I didn't even try to grab Kuwabara or Hiei.

I didn't have to – Machiko dove in after us and grabbed Kuwabara herself with her hands and feet together! I noticed out of the corner of my eye Hiei grab hold of her newly-healed tail and her tail respond by twining about one of his wrists.

We fought as hard as we could to stay up…but it was a losing battle. Neither of us was all that experienced in flight, and both of us had more weight than we could fly with.

The hole closed over our heads, and suddenly Yusuke was yanked off of my tail!

After falling for a bit, we ended up floating in some strange location! Everyone let go of their respective locations and Machiko let go of Kuwabara and started working on his ropes.

Technically, Machy and I could have put away our wings…but if our feet weren't on anything solid, we felt better with them.

Kurama, Seaman and Hiei were speculating on where we were. I chose to just look around.

Machiko looked at me. "Hey…how come you're in your 'Keep Away From Me' Fear Mode? Don't you prefer your 'Now You See Me, Now You Don't' Fear Mode?"

I was quiet for a minute. Then I answered her. "I'm trying. My vanishing trick isn't working here; the energy of this place is messing with my abilities. It's just like back in the cave with the demon portal."

Then someone came in – the person Seaman had called Itsuki!

"You're not really a human, are you?" Kurama asked him.

He smiled. "Do you really think a human could have produced that tunnel?"

Then he revealed what he was.

"He's an actual Yamanate," Kurama sounded impressed.

Hiei wasn't impressed at all, and Kuwabara…

"I don't care if he's a unicorn! Let's start this fight! We'll see how special he is when I smash him!"

"Why'd I untie him?" Machiko rolled her eyes.

Itsuki held a hand towards us. "Calm your anger, Kuwabara, I'm not here to fight."

"What? Then why the heck did you bring us to this freaky place – for sightseeing? I've seen enough!"

Machiko suddenly shot a thought in my direction. "_**Keep trying to vanish, Sis; it's possible that you still can, it's just that you've never had to vanish in a place that's loaded with demon energy before and that's what's messing you up.**_"

* * *

I tuned out everything else that was being said and glared at my hand, trying to get the colors to change to match my surroundings.

It was actually Itsuki who got me to vanish with one part of his story. "Yes…I admit my attraction was not purely academic, I always wished he would become my lover."

Kuwabara also took exception to that remark. "Okay, you can stop right there, I don't think my ears are old enough for this!"

"If you truly care for him," Kurama called out, "then help us to stop him! This path he's taking will destroy everything, and us as well!"

"You can't save the damned."

I tuned them out again and started practicing flying about and keeping my newfound faux invisibility active at the same time. I ended up behind Itsuki, but I wasn't about to try anything; I'm not a fighter.

Eventually Hiei got a laugh from Machiko. "If we kill him, I get the first hit."

"You, Shorty?" she mocked him. At least she kept it to that instead of extending it like she had outside the caves.

"I'm afraid these surroundings are making us stir-crazy," Itsuki remarked. "Let's have a better view."

I flew over his head as two giant windows opened behind him and me, looking into the cave we just were.

Yusuke and Sensui were facing off, though apparently neither had moved yet.

Then Yusuke managed to land a punch on the creep!

"Yeah!" Kuwabara fist-pumped. "Now that's a statement-punch!"

After a minute, Kuwabara yelled at Itsuki, "From now on, you're in Quiet Time, okay?!"

I covered my face. _Kuwabara…stop it. He's entitled to his own opinion._

I also couldn't watch as everything Yusuke was throwing at Sensui was getting parried and then when I looked up, Yusuke had been thrown across the room.

Machiko winced. "Ouch. I remember when I took him on. Nothing I did worked, and he really pounded me good. I had to take on a large portion of this form in order to avoid getting seriously hurt."

"He was going easy on you," Itsuki suddenly spoke.

She spun around. "_WHAT?!_"

"You think he couldn't have caused a great deal of damage to a true demon with his fighting style? He could have broken your ribs five times over, as well as caused any number of other fractures. The thing was, he felt…"

"Don't say it!" she snapped, her wings flaring. "Don't say he felt sorry for me because I was a demon stuck growing up in a human world and forced to take on a weaker human form to blend in!"

She was ticked. If she were me, she'd probably be a very dark red right now.

"Very well, I won't say it."

Her eyes narrowed, and I could see the fangs that she had chosen to leave off when she'd flown in starting to take form. Our fangs aren't all that long – our lips will still close over them, and they don't interfere with our speech patterns – but they're plenty sharp enough to where if we needed to, we could probably pierce living flesh with them.

* * *

Then Yusuke managed to pound Sensui so that the guy went flying into the lake.

"What's that, Sensui? You say you forgot how to swim? You drowned?" Yusuke yelled at the lake. "Great! We'll pack up and go! You heard Kuwabara, he's starved!"

_Well…now I know he can hear us._

Then Sensui came out of the lake minus his shirt. I was astonished at all the scars he had! After a remark from Kuwabara about all the fights Sensui had been through, the old Spirit Detective looked at us. "Don't you know what they say about assuming, Kuwabara? These wounds aren't from enemies – no one's ever hurt me that bad. I gave myself these scars as part of my training."

I shuddered. "Wow…that's…wrong."

Then an energy ball leaped out of the water and circled over to hover next to Sensui!

"Oh, great!" Kuwabara complained. "Now he can make things move without touching 'em!"

"And that won't be all!" Kurama sounded worried. Hiei made a noncommittal sound.

Itsuki just laughed a little.

Then Sensui formed loads of little energy balls around him! Kuwabara wanted to know how Yusuke was going to hit Sensui through that.

"The real problem will be," Kurama was still worried, "getting away from him."

I fluttered down to Kurama and let my hands rest on his shoulders. I was still nervous, and now that my hiding was working again, it meant that there was no way he could see me if he looked over his shoulder.

Kurama lifted a hand and rested it on one of mine, an effort to reassure me.

Then Sensui sent all those energy balls towards Yusuke!

Machiko suddenly started shaking. "If I'd gotten here just a minute later, I'd be out there with him! Those would tear through my wings like paper!"

Yusuke dodged for a while, but after a bit he got hit by a bunch of them! The resulting dust cloud completely obscured our view of him!

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara really sounded worried.

My hands clenched tighter on Kurama's shoulders. I hadn't grown claws this time, there hadn't been any need for them, so I knew I wouldn't pierce his clothing, let alone his skin.

"Poor Mister Urameshi," Seaman's voice trembled.

"Don't get too worried yet," Kurama reassured us. "It'll take a lot more than that to do him in."

"Are you sure?"

Kurama just nodded, but I sensed he was still a little uneasy. I could fill in the words he didn't say: _How much more…that I'm not sure of._

Then Yusuke leaped out as the dust cloud was starting to dissipate. "Is that all you've got?"

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Then Sensui got ready to do the same thing again! Yusuke made some remark about playing something other than dodgeball.

Kurama almost choked, and not on laughter. "No time for…jokes, Yusuke! His energy is so much stronger now!"

Sensui bragged over having loads more spirit energy than Yusuke, and Seaman cried out that Yusuke would be murdered!

The attack was launched, and I put away my wings, flipped over Kurama's head and pressed up against his chest again. I was still watching…I couldn't look away…but now I was in a position where a reassuring gesture would be easier.

Yusuke was knocked head over heels again, but he still was able to get up again.

"He's insane." That's all Machiko said about it.

The third time the attack was launched, Yusuke just rushed headlong into it!

"You're right, Machy," I commented, feeling my third eyelids close so I wouldn't miss anything, "he _is_ insane!"

"Individually, those attacks aren't so bad," Kurama suddenly realized. "It's when they reconvene and strike Yusuke all at once that they become too much to handle."

Yusuke unloaded a lot of punches on Sensui and then leaped high, yelling, "Bet you didn't see this coming!"

And…he landed in the lake.

I blinked. "…What was that?"

And then he started swimming around in the lake.

Suddenly I faded back into view. I wasn't scared anymore, I was stunned. "I don't believe it."

After a minute, he popped back out and lunged in for more punching action.

Wait – he didn't punch – he ripped his shirt off and used it to catch Sensui's wrist!

"That should block his splinter resshūken," Kurama sounded relatively calm, "for the time being, at least."

Their wrists were tied together, so Yusuke was doing all his punching with one arm and had brought Sensui down onto his back so that he could continue pinning the creep and Sensui couldn't run away!

Then…I don't know what happened, but Yusuke suddenly went flying!

And Sensui…had a gun on the end of one arm?

"What was that?" Hiei asked.

"It appears he's transformed his arm into the barrel of a gun!" Kurama sounded borderline between his usual calm and scared.

"It must have taken restraint to hold back on that for as long as he did."

I sensed Machiko look at Hiei. "Well don't sound so impressed, Shorty!"

Then Sensui started talking completely different!

"His tone has changed!" Kurama was just as surprised as I was. "That doesn't sound like Sensui anymore."

"Yeah," Kuwabara spoke next, "he's got a potty mouth now! Hey, don't you know there are girls listening to this?"

"It's not him," Itsuki spoke for the first time in a while. "He's been substituted now. The only person who can produce that weapon is the person called Kazuya."

Kuwabara completely missed the point. Kurama got it, though. "Multiple personalities?"

"What?" Kuwabara still sounded shocked. "Oh, don't tell me this is getting weirder!"

"Indeed." Itsuki answered Kurama as if Kuwabara hadn't spoken. "There are seven, all coexisting within Sensui's brain, each with distinct traits and talents."

"There're seven of him?" Kuwabara's tone could best be described with the phrase, "oh great now what?"

"I can't believe this!" Seaman sounded just as shocked. "I had no idea!"

"His subconscious created them to cope with the madness." Itsuki sounded way too calm for the revelation he was giving us. "It's an impulsive defense mechanism, the brain's own survival instinct, much like your vanishing trick, Kamiko."

Kuwabara started trying to generate his dimension-cutting sword as Yusuke was getting kicked around by this freak's psycho personality. I huddled closer to Kurama, sensing that my fear was causing my color to fade out again.

Kurama put his arms around me. "Easy, Kamiko. It's not over yet."

Kuwabara got a sword, but he wasn't managing to cut through so either it was the wrong weapon or this place didn't follow the rules of dimensions.

Then Hiei lunged for our window with a yell of "Step aside!" And yet, it didn't work!

His back was to me, but I could imagine the nonplussed look on his face.

A quiet laugh left Itsuki. "You're wasting your time." I tuned out the rest of what he said. The important part had already entered my head.

* * *

Yusuke was getting all shot up, none of the hits being instantly fatal. This was just proving what Itsuki had said about Kazuya tormenting his victims.

Right before the creep was about to blow Yusuke's head off, a new voice cut through the cave. "Shinobu!"

I blinked. "Was that Koenma?"

Even after Koenma showed up, Kuwabara was still trying to get out. It was getting old.

"The only way to transfer out is through my power," Itsuki told us, "which I'm sure you'll never possess."

Machiko growled at him. "Well, then…you'd better let us out!"

Kuwabara rushed Itsuki, only to have Hiei parry the sword-swing!

"Hey, what was that for? I'm gonna smash him!"

"Why don't you think a little?" Hiei replied, sounding somewhere between snide and resigned.

Kurama picked up the explanation. "Itsuki's the only one who can free us. Kill him and we'll be trapped here."

Well. That took away his thunder.

**Machiko**

As Koenma and…Kazuya talked out there, I absently glanced towards Kurama and Kamiko. Not that I could really see her at all from my exact angle, just the way that Kurama's clothes were reacting to the pressure of a girl's body. And judging by the way certain wrinkles were starting to form, she was nearly trying to squirm inside his skin from sheer nerves.

Considering how shy my sister normally is, this was saying something. What it was saying, about what, I'm not sure. Maybe she'd forgotten she was in Kurama's arms, because of how focused she was on our double-screen TV. Or maybe…

A smile spread onto my face. _Or maybe she likes him._

Suddenly a Spirit Gun explosion went off! Kamiko went white again, perfectly visible in Kurama's arms, and I was tight as a bowstring!

The conversation taking place outside hinted that Yusuke had missed, and was exhausted now. The talking was, once again, between that creep Kazuya and our own friend Koenma.

* * *

After a minute, I started dashing in flight around our prison. I nearly bumped into Itsuki twice, and both times he dodged. Then again, he could probably sense that I wasn't actually trying to attack him.

"Machiko," he asked when he had to duck for the third time, "what are you doing?"

"Flying practice. Since I can't leave until you say so, the movie's gotten boring. And this place is definitely roomy enough."

I sensed Kamiko's regard. Then I barely heard her speak. "Not a bad idea, sis." The next minute, we were flying a complicated dance about each other, just practicing maneuvers in empty space.

What made the dodging around fun was the sheer amount of debris that was also floating in space here.

Then Kurama mentioned something about a thought Murota reading being misinterpreted! "By seven, we assumed he meant the psychics he recruited. We assumed Sensui cared for his team; but in truth, the seven were his own personalities!"

"The psychics were expendable," Hiei countered, "he planned to be the sole survivor from the very start!"

"That's correct." Itsuki. "As his partner from the naive years, I was the only one who realized. But I can take care of myself."

I glanced at his face on a pass-by. He looked almost sad. Considering that remark about hoping they could be lovers, I wasn't all that surprised.

That wasn't all he said, but I tuned out the rest of it. I know, hardly smart, probably there was something important in his story; but I wasn't all that good at listening.

Itsuki did startle me at one point. "Of the seven personalities, one is a girl."

Kamiko also had a color-swirl at that moment. I didn't see what the colors were, I only noticed out of the corner of my eye. It got worse when he said that sometimes he thought that he and that girl-persona were in love.

"What are you saying?!" Kuwabara yelled. "No, don't answer – I don't want to catch your crazy disease!"

I shuddered, briefly forgetting to flap my wings; not that it mattered in this place, I stayed in the same spot anyway.

"Hey, Shinobu!" Kazuya's voice drew my attention again. "You awake yet?"

_Oh, Koenma must have asked to speak with him._

"Shinobu!"

_Apparently, he's not taking any calls._

Kazuya's next words pretty much confirmed that idea.

I flew down to Seaman, lightly resting my clawed hands on his shoulders. He flinched, no surprise as he's not used to demons particularly, but otherwise didn't move. "Hey, you want a ride? I want to practice flying around with someone on my back, and you're probably the lightest one here."

"Um…"

"Don't worry, I won't be going out of range of the TV. You can still watch your show."

"…Okay." He flipped around onto my back and I started flying some more. "Just curious, though, why not Hiei? He's smaller than me."

"Smaller, sure, but not necessarily lighter: that small body is packed with muscle. He probably weighs about the same as…I don't know, Kurama? Maybe Kuwabara? Yusuke's pretty much all muscle, he's probably heavier than Hiei."

"Oh."

* * *

**Kamiko**

Kazuya taunted Koenma. "Face it, Princey, we've all chosen our fates!"

"…Then so have I." Koenma did…something…

I flew closer to try to see what he'd done. The result was I smacked into the window. "Ow! Good grief!" Then I focused my eyes.

_Did he…remove that pacifier?_

"Down in front, sis!" Machiko shouted at me. "Don't block the TV!"

I folded my wings, angled them down away from my body, and heaved them upwards, causing an equal and opposite reaction of pushing me downwards. I kept my gaze on Koenma and that dopey pacifier, though.

Energy started surging off of it, moving his hair and clothes and causing ripples in their space!

Koenma explained what he was going to do with the pacifier, giving Kazuya, Shinobu and everyone else inside that head a chance to back down.

"We'll chat it over." Then Kazuya crossed his arms and just stood there, while the energy was still swirling.

* * *

After an unbearable length of time, Kazuya moved. "We've made our choice! It's unanimous among all seven." Then he aimed his gun at Koenma. "We're continuing our plan – as soon as I kill you off!"

_That's it? Five minutes of silence, and that's what you picked? I'd expected more sense from you – especially you, Miss Shinobu! You're supposed to be the compassionate one!_

Then Yusuke intervened in what Koenma was going to do!

"Yusuke…do you even have a plan?"

"He rarely does," Kurama answered me.

After tossing the dopey pacifier around between his hands from not wanting to touch it, Yusuke finally just shoved it into his pocket.

_Koenma…you don't want to put that in your mouth again._

Yusuke's "Let's just get back to killing each other!" remark had me snickering a bit.

Then he had to punch Koenma. After doing so, Yusuke made the strangest sound and said through gritted teeth, "You don't know how long I've been waiting to do that!"

I sighed, winged backwards and set myself into a hover almost right next to Itsuki. "Wake me when sanity prevails, will you?"

"What are you defining as sanity?"

"I don't know…everybody outside shutting up?"

He laughed softly. "Very well."

* * *

No, I didn't actually fall asleep there. I just proceeded to tune out everything Yusuke, Kazuya and even my friends said next.

After a few minutes, total silence entered existence. Itsuki's hand lightly touched my arm. "Your definition of sanity seems to have prevailed."

I swiveled again, opening my eyes.

Yusuke was standing, and Kazuya – Shinobu – whoever he was, he was kneeling on the ground, his arms crossed in front of his stomach. I couldn't see if he still had a gun-arm.

Then he slowly got back to his feet.

"Which freak am I talking to now?" Yusuke asked through gritted teeth.

Then he looked up. "My name is Shinobu. It's an honor to meet you."


	11. Angst and Demon World Training

**_Angst and Demon World Training_**

* * *

**Machiko**

Great. The original man with a plan was back.

Apparently Seaman had never heard the real Shinobu until this minute.

"This is the first time I've shown my face to anyone in months."

"Wait a minute," I had to ask. "If this is the first time in months he's made an appearance, who'd thrashed the fur off me? It wasn't Kazuya, or I'd be dead right now!"

"Machy…" Kamiko spoke up. "Just…don't ask. You probably don't actually want to know."

After a little weirdness, Shinobu actually addressed Itsuki where we were trapped. "May I have the arms and spare clothes?"

I stared at Itsuki for a second. "And while you're at it, can I get out of here? The zero-gravity feel is starting to get to me!"

After some exchanges, Itsuki remarked, "Such a complex side, I guess that's why I like him the most!"

Hiei actually glared at the strange demon, and Kamiko color-shuddered again. I knew that pattern by now: revulsion.

"Just going by this new name isn't gonna make him any stronger, right?" Kuwabara growled.

I'd happened to be looking at Itsuki right at that moment. His eyes had been on Kuwabara since the stupid teenager had started talking, and when he'd shut up, his eyes had widened for a second, with an odd little smile on his face.

I sighed. "Kuwabara, I hate you."

"What'd I say?"

"Have you ever noticed that in movies, if someone says that something 'isn't gonna get any stronger, right?'" I mimicked his voice for a second, "they're proven wrong in the very next scene?"

* * *

Sensui got a new shirt thanks to Itsuki. I felt completely crazy. "I hate zero-gravity! Seriously, if I promise not to do anything to interfere, can I please get out of here?"

Kamiko suddenly joined in the chorus. "I agree! We with wings just can't deal with zero gravity for long: we start feeling like a bunch of stuff's supposed to be happening, and when it isn't, we start to panic!"

"If I make an exception for you," Itsuki finally told us, "I'd have to make the exception for all of you."

"I really want to hit you right now."

Suddenly, Shinobu started laughing – I don't know, maybe Yusuke said something that hit his funny bone – he started glowing with energy and the whole cave outside started breaking up!

"What the hey?" I yelped, flaring my wings as if it'd actually do something.

* * *

**Kamiko**

I glided back down to Kurama and took hold of his shoulders, shivering. Part of that was my desperate need to have proper gravity again. The other part was just how crazy Shinobu sounded right now.

Then Kurama suddenly called to Yusuke. "That's not spirit energy at all!"

"It's not demon energy, either!" Hiei added.

"Wait a second," Kuwabara addressed the two demons, "if it's not demon or spirit, then what kind of energy is it? Solar?"

Machiko started laughing a little. But it sounded weak.

Koenma finally woke up out there…I wondered what would happen next. As it happened, Koenma named the energy: sacred energy!

…I seem to be making a habit of getting into Kurama's arms. I couldn't help it – not to put too fine a point on it, but I was helpless right now!

I don't even know for sure what Shinobu did, but Yusuke went flying backwards into the wall, forming a crater where he hit!

And yet…Yusuke went running right back for more.

I blinked at Kurama. "Isn't that the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results?"

All Yusuke's punches connected…but it was as if Yusuke had been, well, _me_ – no fighting experience or desire to hurt anyone, so all punches were pulled! Shinobu didn't even react! Well…not beyond laughing again.

* * *

I wasn't clear on what happened next…beyond Yusuke's shoe hitting Shinobu's face. Then I just rested my own face against Kurama's chest, gripping his ankles with my unusual feet. "Zero gravity's starting to bother me." "_Starting"…hah! It's been bugging me for a while now, it's just that now I'm starting to feel sick again!_

Kurama's arms circled around my back. "Easy there."

* * *

…You know what? I spent nearly the entire rest of the fight between Shinobu and Yusuke with my face hidden in Kurama's chest, so I won't even try to describe what happened next.

I think Hiei called it when he said Yusuke didn't have a plan. And…

I focused a little, and made an eyespot open that was pointed at him.

He was sweating! _Hiei_ was _sweating!_ Was I mistaken, or was Hiei actually _scared?_

"Your senses probably aren't sophisticated enough to know this," Hiei went on, addressing Kuwabara, "but Sensui's energy is currently equal to that of an S-class apparition."

"That's a lot, right?"

"That's as strong as they get," Kurama answered the goof, hugging me tighter. "And I think Sensui's been restraining himself for as long as he possibly can! He broke Yusuke's arm with limited power, delicately, as if snapping a twig!"

Hiei almost sounded like he'd given up already! I could hear Machiko growling behind us.

Now, it's occurred to me numerous times that I didn't actually know what either of us could do. We were half-demons – presumably, we had some sort of special power to go with the claws and tails. Still…it was highly doubtful that either of us had anything that could bust us out of here.

Then the cave around us started shaking again!

Kurama hugged me so tightly I was having a little trouble breathing, but I didn't complain – largely because I was willing the shaking to stop.

I heard Machiko start making some sound like she was running a line between wanting to scream, and trying not to scream.

"Was that me?" Shinobu asked. I blanked the rest of what he said, because the question part had just been so stupid.

It was Itsuki, oddly enough, who drew Kurama's attention to how tightly he was holding me. "Excuse me…Kamiko, was it? What's that color mean – that light blue-gray?"

"Gray and blue combined…" I gasped a little. "Not enough air."

I sensed Kurama look down, and felt his grip loosen.

"Thanks."

* * *

I did watch as Koenma played his ace-in-the-hole, that dumb pacifier's load of spirit energy that could trap S-class demons!

I don't know what shocked me more: that his pacifier had so much strength…or that it didn't work!

Koenma fell to his knees outside our prison…he looked devastated with every word Sensui said.

And yet…Yusuke still apparently had a plan. I considered hiding my face again, mostly because of Kuwabara.

Suddenly Kurama told us Yusuke's plan – he was going to die, giving all of us a chance to win!

Machiko's voice came from behind me. "I…don't…think I'd be able to do that."

"Me neither," I shivered.

"Think, Kuwabara," Kurama said in response to something I'd missed, "what you did wasn't a real gamble. You knew what Yusuke had just been through."

I don't know what thoughts Kuwabara had rattling around in his head. I tended to ignore him.

Hiei nearly made me laugh. "Well, maybe we should kill Kuwabara again."

"That won't work," Kurama countered. "Yusuke's capped out. We're the untapped ones; we have the power, but we don't know how to access it. Not without the pain of loss."

Kuwabara started going bonkers.

Kurama looked down at me. "When I have to try something…you'll have to move." And he let his arms fall.

I decided to move early and swung around so I was gripping his shoulders from behind.

* * *

Kuwabara sounded like he was in anguish, begging Yusuke not to throw his life away.

I glanced up at Machiko. I knew we were thinking the same thing:

"_We've only known Yusuke for a couple of days, and yet…we don't want to see him die. We have so few friends, losing even one at this point would be awful!_"

And that went double for Machiko, she doesn't get out as often as I do!

"Lover-boy," Hiei suddenly snapped at Itsuki, tossing off his cloak,"release us now and you may keep the ability to breathe! If we're going to die, let us die in war – against Sensui!"

Kuwabara sounded stunned, but Kurama suddenly pulled a rose from his hair, and I decided it would be better if I moved back.

Kurama gave Kuwabara the plan, sort of, while creating his Rose Whip. "Kuwabara, Hiei and myself will join Yusuke in four-on-one combat against Sensui using every tactic we have! We've gone far past the stage of fighting for our honor!"

I missed what Kuwabara said.

"We just need Itsuki to let us out of this creature; perhaps torture would suffice!"

I stared at Machiko. She stared at me. Then I looked back at Kurama. "Even if we had a breakthrough simultaneously, we're untrained and would be a liability. We'll stay out of your way."

Kurama's head bobbed, acknowledging what I'd said.

Then Itsuki dissed them.

"_**Hiei's not going to take that well,**_" Machy whispered to me.

"_**Neither's Kurama,**_" I whispered back.

Kuwabara almost rushed in, but Kurama stopped him. "If you really think we can't help, then what was the purpose of trapping us?"

_Ah, logic…gotta love it._

"Well, while you were never a threat for _defeating_ Sensui, you could perhaps with teamwork…run away."

"_**Oohh…**_" Machiko's emotions were erratic. "_**Take it back, Itsuki, Hiei never runs **_**away**_** from combat!**_"

"_**I thought you didn't like him.**_"

She didn't answer that.

"We never run!" Kuwabara declared.

"We should ask your more strategic friends. Hiei…Kurama…I sense that neither one of you is terribly far from becoming an A-class demon. In fact, Spirit Fox, I believe you once were."

_Spirit Fox? … "Fox-boy"…Kurama?_

(Yes, this was about the first that I was starting to suspect what Kurama actually was.)

I was close to tuning out exact words that Itsuki continued saying. The gist was, maybe they were planning on experience-grinding to become strong, beat Sensui as a team afterwards, and…something about damage control, that last part made little sense.

"You're clever, Itsuki," Hiei snapped, "but you've guessed wrong!"

"Don't try your bluffs on me, Hiei, I know your kind too well. Just stand here and do the only thing you can: watch Yusuke die."

Kuwabara ended up distracting us by trying to generate some serious energy and failing.

"Idiot," was all Hiei said. Kurama was more gracious. "He still hasn't learned to hone his new power."

Itsuki effectively called Kuwabara useless for not being able to generate the power at will. At least that had been why they hadn't let him get eaten.

* * *

Then Sensui started pounding Yusuke!

Hiei and Kurama both clenched tighter fists, while Kuwabara started moaning like a moron.

Then…of all things…Kuwabara started punching the energy he needed!

"_**Finally!**_" Machiko blasted into my mind. She'd probably thought it so as not to blow the moment and distract him, a rare moment of consideration.

Itsuki yelled out in a near panic! "I've done all I can – finish him, Sensui!"

Kuwabara got us out! We were falling – properly _falling_ again! Machiko and I both took flight in relief, while the other four people landed in the shallows of the lake.

But…it wasn't in time. Sensui landed his final blow on Yusuke.

Everything just seemed to stop.

**Machiko**

I landed. So did Kamiko. All of us looked at the fallen.

Kuwabara checked Yusuke's heart…and going by his reaction, there was no sound.

I'd seen death already…but actually knowing the person changed things dramatically. I could only imagine what Kamiko was feeling –

For a second, I sensed her memories. _The only death Kamiko had ever seen in real life was that of the Gamemaster, and there was no blood…no marks…she'd been sad, he was just a kid, but nothing truly horrifying._

Kuwabara and Kamiko screamed at the exact same time: Kuwabara shouting "No" and Kamiko letting out a single, pure-note shriek.

"There's little time for closing arguments," Sensui told us. "The tunnel is open. Are any of you brave enough to lead the way? Then come to finish what your late friend could not."

"Sure," Kuwabara sounded drained, "bravery's the only thing we got left."

Hiei unbound his right arm, revealing a cool dragon tattoo…that moves? And he revealed and opened an eye on his forehead!

Kurama looked angry. And then suddenly he pitched forward for a second and changed completely – his red hair got longer and silver, his ears traveled on top of his head and became pointed animal ears, he got a silver-furred tail and even his _clothes_ changed to some white getup!

Then I glanced at Kamiko. She'd stopped screaming and had fixed her gaze on Sensui. And her color had just turned a deep midnight black.

I was ready. Kamiko and I might not have had any formal training, but we were pissed, and that was likely to be enough…for now.

We all lunged forwards, though Kuwabara was a little slow on the uptake.

"Dragon of the Darkness Flame!" Hiei shouted, letting his black dragon-tattoo shoot forwards and annihilate every lesser demon coming out of the portal! Then it actually caught up Sensui! "Here's a one-way ticket straight to Hell, you bastard!"

It didn't destroy him – it carried him through the portal! The wind caught all of us, and Kamiko and I spread our wings to the fullest and rode the currents through, with our friends following us. There was no way we were letting Sensui get away!

* * *

**Kamiko**

I kept stealing glances at Kurama while we rode through pseudospace. _That's a new look for you, Kurama. …Is that still the Kurama I know?_

I got my answer in another second when he answered some question from Kuwabara. "I have not become Yoko Kurama, I have merely taken on his form while retaining my human personality! It's a side effect of this increase in demon energy."

"There he is!" Hiei interrupted the lecture.

"Whoa!" Kuwabara sounded giddy, "It's like being inside of a video game!"

"No," Hiei snapped, "trust me: it's not."

Then we saw a net in front of us! One of the demons – I'm not sure which one – named it as the Kakai Barrier!

We landed near it. At least we could stand.

Sensui was on the other side.

"And how the heck did he make it through here?" Kuwabara demanded.

"I'm glad you asked," Sensui replied. "As you remember, my energy is of the sacred kind. Unfortunately, the brains in charge of Spirit World only made this net filter out demon energy. That's why I passed through unscathed, while Hiei's attack burned out when it hit the net. But you and your friends should take consolation in the fact that this barrier only blocks out A- and S-class demons."

Kurama approached the barrier. When Kuwabara asked what the fox was doing, Kurama didn't answer.

He tried to put his hand through the barrier. A grand old energy wave blew wind past him, and he didn't get through. I saw that his hand had gotten a little singed as he pulled it back. After giving his fingers a tiny lick, he confirmed, "He's right, we're trapped."

"Now, granted," Sensui turned his gaze to me and my sister, "there are a couple of demons in your group that aren't that high a level of power. Neither of you were told what your class was, were you?"

I was honest. I shook my head.

"Very well, I'll just tell you what your power ranking is. Bear in mind, it's not going to be completely accurate as you're both just half demons. You're both right in the middle of D-class."

_About where Koenma said Hiei used to be._

Machiko didn't take that well. "_Both_ of us? I've seen combat! With you, no less!"

"Oh, if you want to get more specific, yes, Machiko, your ranking is somewhat higher than your sister's; but within D-class, differences are hardly worth noticing."

Machiko growled, flaring her wings. And then Kuwabara cut through the barrier.

We dashed after him again. And for the record, readers, just because I'm sounding completely calm while I'm writing this entry, doesn't mean I haven't lost my pitch-black anger. It's still there; I'm still midnight-black.

* * *

Finally we made it through the exit – to find ourselves miles above the ground!

"Hiei, do you know where in Demon World we are?" Kurama asked.

"Yes, I've been in these parts before, and if I'm right, we're rather lucky: the Forest of Fools, just low-level demons that won't present any challenge to us – well," and he shot a look at my sister and me, "maybe a challenge to the twins over there. This would be an excellent training ground for them if they don't die first."

"Hiei…" Machiko glared. "I hate you."

Kurama got our attention. "You both really might as well go hunt out some demons here, Sensui's out of your league."

I waved my arms out to the sides, my in-flight equivalent of a shrug. "If you don't need our help reaching the ground…come on, Machy, let's find some demons stupid enough to take me on when I'm this angry."

"Oh yeah!" And both of us folded our wings and went into power-dives.

I spared a glance backwards and saw that Kurama had grown something vaguely butterfly-winglike and had caught himself, Hiei and Kuwabara.

In that glance, I made eye contact with Hiei. A smirk crossed his face. "_**Have fun, ladies, and meet up with us later! You are capable of tracking, right?**_"

"_**You think it'll be hard to find you? I could track Kurama anywhere!**_" I ignored the surge of emotion I felt when the name Kurama crossed my mind.

He nodded, and I focused my attention on the dive again.

We actually divebombed right past Sensui, who was still free-falling backwards! Machiko waved cockily with her tail. "See ya groundside, idiot! We're off to find a party!"

_Way to make sure he knows we're not about to fight him._

* * *

Light shows were happening off a nearby plateau when we entered the forest. That was probably where the others were. I sent a thought to Machiko. "_**When we get close to the ground, put away your wings. We might as well save our aerial strength for when we have to get back to our friends.**_"

"_**Got it!**_"

* * *

…Saying I felt bad over leaving the three men to fight Sensui…would be an overstatement. I knew that we'd have been a liability. Sensui's a human, a Spirit Detective, trained in the art of fighting. We were a couple of teenage half-demons, mid-D-class, with no training whatsoever…between us.

So what was the difference between fighting a lone human and fighting loads of demons? Well…partially it was terrain: we were practically in our element dodging around in the forest. And it was also in part because of our using the element of surprise. And there was one last thing. Sensui had a face to us. Fighting him with the intent to kill would have been hard, at least for me. But demons…at least the lower-class demons…they were all ugly near-faceless brutes, all the same to me.

At first we were fighting just for fun, not trying to kill anyone. Then the demons actually started coming for us, and we had to fight for survival. That was when we started truly killing.

Machiko had made it a game even when the stakes got higher – she was keeping count. As soon as I'd figured out what she was up to, I started keeping track as well.

We were learning new techniques the whole time. Tearing something vital open with footclaws, breaking a neck with a tail, slitting arteries with the claws on hands…Machiko even used the horns on her head and ran full-tilt into a couple of opponents.

_Maybe I won't have to ask Genkai for self-defense lessons after all._


	12. Yusuke's Trip to Crazy-Town

_**Yusuke's Trip to Crazy-Town**_

* * *

**Kamiko**

Finally, we ran out of opponents. I tried in vain to wipe my hands clean. Unfortunately, I had no excess cloth on me. My feet were filthy as well.

"Thirty-two!" Machiko yelled. I turned to look at her and flinched. She was worse off aesthetically than I was. I only had grime-covered hands and feet, as I'd been trying to stay relatively invisible. She had gunk up to her knees and elbows, and even smears all over her forehead and in her hair! "So, how'd you do?"

"Um…" I swallowed. "Twenty…something?"

"I win!" She pumped her fist in the air. Then both of us stiffened as a new energy wave hit us.

"I think I'll go see what that is." I spread my wings and took flight, attempting to turn invisible as well. I heard Machiko following me as we climbed higher into the air.

Then we got to a certain height and saw a giant blue bird coming towards us with two riders. One was Koenma, and the other…

"Hiya, Yusuke!" Machiko called as she lunged up harder. "How's it going?"

"Stripey! Boy, you're sure a mess; is all that from Sensui?"

"Nah, training in the forest. I got thirty-two demons!"

"Ha! You were whupping ass and taking names, is that it?"

She pulled up level with one wing and laughed. "Yup! Kurama said we were too weak to choose Sensui as a first target, so we went for some training."

"We? Kamiko's around here, too, right?"

I labored a little higher and came visible again on the bird's other side. I suspected that the bird was Pu, transformed. "I'm right here."

"Hey! So how many did you get?"

I glanced at Koenma's expression – he looked horrified at how filthy Machiko was – and replied, "I think twenty-seven."

"Not bad! Now let's go stop Sensui and save the world!"

We both dropped back and glided behind the giant bird, just off the wings. "Easier flying back here!"

"Sweet, we're like a squadron of fighter jets! Let's move in!"

* * *

The corniest thing Yusuke called as we flew in was "Sorry I'm late; the traffic was a bitch!"

Machiko started laughing. Typical.

We landed a respectable distance away and the boys dismounted.

Everyone in front of us looked shocked. Seeing that expression on Hiei's face was classic – I didn't think much of anything could surprise him.

"Is…that him?" Hiei asked.

"But…but how?" Kurama answered.

They were probably not going to notice how filthy Machiko and I were, or even that Koenma was here, for a good five minutes.

Yusuke went wandering over, delivering some remark about what lousy friends the three guys were, running off to take on Sensui by themselves.

We followed behind him. Machiko was hiding her mouth behind her hand.

"_**That's hardly sanitary, sis,**_" I shot towards her, "_**that stuff's nasty!**_"

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelped. "But you were – but you were definitely dead, I swear it! Your heart stopped beating! I double-checked!"

"Yeah, I can't explain that," Yusuke shrugged. "In fact, my ticker's still not ticking, I guess I should be worried."

Both demon-boys sitting on the floor started laughing. Hard. Then again, Machiko and I were laughing, too – he just sounded so _un_concerned it was ridiculous!

Kurama finally managed to answer, and chose to be nice. "You'll get used to that." Then he dropped a bombshell. "You see, demon hearts don't beat in the conventional human sense."

"Demon?!" was Kuwabara's only response. I just stared, and that shut Machiko up.

"Yes, demon." Koenma came over.

"I keep hoping I'll wake up soon." Kuwabara sounded like he was at the end of his rope.

I looked at Machiko. She now had a dark hand print over her nose and mouth, and I _really_ didn't want to know what was in the stuff that had made that print.

I tuned out Koenma…kind of. Apparently, Yusuke's had demon blood dormant inside of him for some time.

Actually, the reason I was ignoring Koenma so hard was because I was fighting the urge to run over to him and wipe my hands off on his cape.

I listened to Yusuke instead. "Funny story! Apparently, way back one of my ancestors was this Mazoku guy. So when I died, I was able to come back, but like him."

Kuwabara recoiled. Way to make Yusuke feel better. "So you _are_ a demon!"

Sensui was still standing there. This apparently made just as much sense to him as it did to the demons.

"I had no idea you were one of us, Yusuke," Hiei remarked, his expression almost coy. "How's it feel to be so superior?"

Yusuke basically said he felt normal. "I mean, I haven't sprouted horns or extra eyes yet. But I do have this sudden burning desire to tear this guy to pieces." And that last shot was aimed at Sensui.

Hiei and Kurama both stood up, wanting to take Sensui on as well. Yusuke started trying to talk them down a bit. I did snicker a little over the "prom date dispute" comparison Yusuke used. "I hate to say it, Kuwabara, but you're the only one still acting sane."

Kuwabara shouted something about kicking Sensui, and Hiei retorted, "You do realize he'll be kicking back."

Shout fest between Kuwabara and Hiei again. Good grief. At least Hiei wasn't shouting. In fact, Kuwabara started throwing punches at Hiei, and Hiei was dodging and making Kuwabara fall on his face!

I glanced over at Machiko again. She'd put away her horns, taken hold of her torn shirt and was using the front of it to wipe off her face and forehead.

"Machiko? You need a shower in the worst way."

That drew Hiei's attention. "Well. Looks like someone wasn't afraid of getting dirty."

"Mmph…" Machiko shot a look over at me, and I suddenly straightened up, and a quick glance at my arm told me stripes were spreading over me. I knew what was up, though this rarely happened: Machiko was getting ready to say something through me. I barely had time to speak on my own behalf. "Hiei, what I say next is going to be Machiko's words."

His eyes tracked over to me and stayed there.

Then I opened my mouth and my voice was completely different. "Well, if _someone_ hadn't thought it would be funny to insinuate that I was weak, I wouldn't have _needed_ to get dirty!" Not under my power, I wrenched my head around to glare at Sensui and…put my palms squarely on my hips. Inside, I winced. _Oh great, now I'm going to have handprints on my hips; thanks a lot, Machy!_

"Wow," Yusuke laughed briefly. "Sounds like Sensui just ticked off the girls." Then he turned to face Sensui. "Guys, I can sense how strong you've all become – yes, even you two girls – and I appreciate the help you're offering, but I need to do this alone. You dig?"

Kuwabara and Kurama both nodded. Machiko was still fighting with her shirt, trying to get her hairline clean, but I felt assent and said, "Machiko and I will stay out of it. We're probably not A-class yet anyway."

Hiei pointed at our revived friend. "Knock him dead, Yusuke Urameshi. But if you fail, know I've got your back."

"_**Wow.**__"_

I smirked. That one word from Machiko had so much overlain on it… "_**So that's how the chips had fallen, is it? You're in love with the three-eyed short stuff?**_"

"_**Don't make fun of him. …Yes.**_"

"_**When are you going to tell him?**_"

Before she could answer, Yusuke and Sensui shot into the air and started duking it out!

Machy dropped her shirt and stared upwards.

Light was flashing everywhere, and even the ground down here started coming apart!

* * *

I almost couldn't keep track of what was happening! Yusuke fired off the biggest Spirit Gun blast ever, and somehow Sensui only got barely clipped by it!

Yusuke glared at his pointer finger. "My aim is off…I guess."

"He must learn to adjust to his new powers," Kurama observed.

"Yes," Hiei agreed, "hardly a marksmanlike performance. But don't forget, if we've learned one thing fighting with Yusuke, it's that he adapts quickly to new circumstances to squeeze out a win."

The power was turned up over there and my natural instinct kicked in.

I fell to all fours and faded out.

Well…mostly faded out. My filthy hands and feet, and those handprints on my hips, were still visible.

Sensui's armor had changed, but Yusuke wasn't fazed at all! I stayed low and stayed mostly invisible…just…watching.

* * *

Yusuke told Pu to take the lot to a safe distance. Koenma mounted up and the bird grabbed Kuwabara in a talon; Hiei was hanging onto the other talon, and Kurama took flight on his leaf-glider thing. Machiko and I both spread our wings and flew, and I didn't bother dropping my invisibility to do that.

That was right before Yusuke got a serious energy punch to the face!

Then a serious energy wave with loads of light came at us! I could barely hear the exchange between Koenma and Kuwabara!

"Which one of them did _that?_"

"I think both!"

At some point during the light show, Hiei and Kuwbara had gotten up onto Pu's back with Koenma. Machiko and I were going to stay airborne, and I'd sent a good reason: "Feathers are finicky things, and we've got dirty hands and feet!"

I failed to follow some of the fight. Other demons had gotten involved, and were quickly trashed.

Come to think of it…the terrain was quickly changing form thanks to this fight!

Then the two fighters started moving off to a new location! We followed on our respective wings. I glanced back at Kurama and shimmered back into view. "Hey, Kurama, you doing okay back there? I know that's technically a glider, not wings. Need any help?"

He looked up at me. "If you don't think it'll be too much trouble. I _am_ managing on my own."

"No trouble at all." I sideslipped in front of him and extended my tail towards him.

A shiver rippled through me as his slightly-clawed fingers gripped my tailtip, but I focused a little on a trick I'd learned some time ago.

See, my fur's actually pretty silky-smooth; not the easiest thing to hold onto. I was amazed Kurama had managed the first time I'd dragged him somewhere by it. But if I focused hard enough on turning my coloration to look like something specific, like, say…part of a tree, the texture of my skin would change to the tree bark in question.

And that's what I did: I made the last foot of my tail become like a tree branch in coloration and texture, giving Kurama something easier to grip.

I knew when he noticed, because he spoke. "Now that's an interesting ability."

I felt my face flush a bit. "Thanks." Then I returned my attention to flying.

* * *

And…so much for the rock spire we were approaching! The combatants broke it apart with sheer energy before we even got there!

Then a sand tornado formed around the fighters!

The wind technically blew me into Kurama. At least he'd figured out what was coming and let go of my tail to let me crash into him without spinal interference. I felt his hands slide across the backs of my wings, down in front of my wings, and under my arms, gripping his wrists in front of me. Shivers went through me where my fur was brushed. "Here; hopefully this will stabilize our gliding."

His breath tickling my ear was very distracting. A spare thought crossed my mind, and I tried to keep it to myself. _I seem to end up in your arms a lot; do you like me or something, Kurama?_

Apparently thanks to the sheer amount of _directing_ I'd had in that thought, Kurama had heard something; his arms tightened just a little around me.

Koenma suggested we pull back a bit, because we might get fried if we stayed too close. I was game for that – I carefully waved my wings in a slow beat. _Down…closed…up…open…_ I followed that pattern about three times and then stopped.

Kurama made a worried statement about Sensui's demeanor.

I glanced at my striped sister. "_**You doing okay? I know you're not used to a sustained hover…**_"

"_**I'm fine.**_"

* * *

Suddenly, Yusuke's power kicked up about three or so notches and he actually screamed! Light shone everywhere, and I sensed Kurama hide his face in my hair so as not to be blinded.

Finally we could see him again.

_Yusuke…you could use a haircut! Is that to your knees? And man, is it big!_

Kuwabara asked what was up with the hair, and Kurama replied, "I'm not sure what caused this, but it appears that Yusuke's body finally accepted the transformation the Mazoku desires."

I tuned out what everyone was saying about Sensui, largely because I didn't care. Kurama let go of me, I fell a couple feet and managed to flap back up level with them.

* * *

Then Yusuke leaped into action! His energy was playing havoc with the wind currents up here, and I ended up spending every moment fighting to remain in one place, when I wasn't watching the fight!

"Unreal!" Kuwabara sounded amazed.

"Why can't guys have these powers at the start of cases?" Koenma sounded resigned.

"This Mazoku must have been a very brutal warrior," Kurama observed. "As a mere human, Sensui doesn't stand a chance of beating him."

"_Brutal" is putting it mildly._

"Let's hope so," Koenma answered.

The dust cleared, Yusuke threw Sensui into the air and aimed for a Spirit Gun shot.

I shuddered, and I was well aware both Machiko and I had our third eyelids closed so that we wouldn't have to blink.

The shot was fired, and then apparently Yusuke managed to fight back out of the control of his demon side, because he yelled at Sensui, "Get out of the way, dumbass!"

Well…the shot hit Sensui, all right. Then Yusuke started following the crater.

We started following after him by air. I wanted to know what was going on, just as much as the guys on the bird.

* * *

Finally we caught up and landed. Yusuke was demanding that Sensui wake up.

Well…he did sort of wake up. Yusuke wanted to save this guy!

I decided to only give them part of my attention and started looking for something to wipe my hands off on that wasn't something a person was wearing. The nearest thing was Kurama's discarded leaf-glider, so I went with that.

Then Itsuki appeared before us!

"Please," he asked while stepping through his hole properly, "just let Shinobu go."

I didn't quite manage to catch what Yusuke said. Itsuki's response, though, was "Don't torture yourself, Shinobu had only half a month left to live anyway."

After we all reacted in shock, Itsuki explained. "Shinobu is suffering from a rare internal disease. A doctor confirmed it, and not only he could cure it. An ordinary person would have lost the fight a long time ago…but not Shinobu."

"Is this your idea of a joke?" Yusuke asked.

Sensui revived, somewhat. "He's telling the truth…but I'm not making any excuses for my loss. Your last attack, Yusuke…with it, you proved that you were much stronger than I."

Yusuke fell to his knees. "But that wasn't even my power! I had no control over my body! You and I aren't finished yet, I need to know who's really stronger!"

I ignored them. Whatever Shinobu said next was for Yusuke alone to understand.

Setting my tail firmly on the ground to take my weight, I lifted a foot and started trying to wipe it clean. My biggest problem was, the stuff had dried some time back, and so was being deucedly stubborn.

* * *

"Only Yusuke would want to fight someone after he's dead," Hiei said, blinking sleepily. "Wake me when it's over." Then he started tipping forwards.

Pu moved, grabbed the back of Hiei's shirt in his beak, and lifted him off the ground. Then he put Hiei onto his own back.

_Hiei sleeping on the back of a giant bird; where's a camera when you really need one? Machiko would definitely want a copy!_

Then Koenma told us that he'd used some of his pacifier's power to bring Gamemaster back to life!

I walked over to him. "Koenma, that was probably the only thing about this mission I'd regretted: the fact that a child had to die." I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

He giggled a bit, blushing. "Uh…you're welcome?"

Machiko rolled her eyes. "You should feel honored."

I focused on her for a second. I figured I knew what she was going to say, but she didn't have all the facts. I wasn't going to stop her, I wasn't even going to take over her script. I was just going to change one word.

"You're the second boy Kami's ever – wait…" she swiveled and stared at me. "Second? If Junior over there's the second guy you've ever kissed, who was the first?"

I glanced at Kurama as he cocked his head, raising a hand to his face. _I see he got it._

"Me." He sounded…if I was reading his slightly-different voice correctly, he was surprised.

"Getting back to the subject," Yusuke dragged us back to reality. I tuned them out again.

* * *

When Shinobu stopped talking, I glanced back at the group. Everything was still except for the lightning and wind.

Itsuki took Shinobu's body to some other dimension. I still haven't figured out how to react to that.

"Uh…question, Urameshi," Kuwabara raised his hand a little.

"What is it?" Yusuke sounded slightly sullen.

"I was just wondering if you feel kinda weird."

"Well, now that you mention it," Yusuke reached around to scratch his back. "Something on my back's really starting to itch quite a bit."

Machiko and I both started snickering.

It just got funnier when Yusuke started truly looking at himself. We both burst out laughing.

Koenma explained to him about how that was a physical rep of Yusuke's ancestor.

* * *

I tuned them out one more time, fighting to get the crud off. _Why'd I wait so long to even attempt this?_ I glanced up at Machiko. _She doesn't seem to care one way or another, but I need to be clean if I'm going to use my camouflage effectively!_

Yusuke was determined to go find his ancestor. Kuwabara had a great way of calling it. "Come on, Urameshi! We closed the case and saved the world, can't we at least take a nap?"

Machiko started scratching her scalp. "Yeah…and I need a shower in the worst way."

"Wow, sis," I cocked an eyebrow at her, "and I was just starting to think you didn't care."

"It itches."

Koenma informed Yusuke about how there were goons sealing the tunnel behind us, and we had to leave for Human World now or be stuck here forever.

Yusuke made up his mind quickly. "Load up, Pu. Let's go home."

I glanced at Machy. "You want to fly?"

She shuddered a little. "Not really: I used up a lot of energy earlier. Not as much as Hiei, there, I won't be falling asleep for a week or however long he'll be out…but I can't fly all the way back." Then she glanced at me and grinned. "You want to try that little trick?"

I grinned back. "Sure, why not?" And I walked over so that we were standing about three feet apart.

Our tails touched, twirled once about each other, then looped up and twirled again to make a loose knot. Then we both ran for Pu. "Hold still, Pu!"

We leaped, and sailed on either side of Pu's neck. Machiko grabbed Hiei up, hugged him in her arms, and folded her wings about him while she was still airborne.

We landed on the bird's back, our tails stopping against Pu's wishbone. I glanced at Machiko. The energy I'd sensed from her upon her coming to a full stop was…odd.

_She fell asleep as soon as she stopped moving! I hope she manages to keep hold of Hiei._

"Hey, Koenma? Machy's got Hiei, so she weighs more than me. Can you make sure I remain a counterbalance to her?"

"Hm? Of…course!" When he got up, he wrapped his arms around me and tried to make sure he was secure.

* * *

As we flew, I made small talk with Koenma. "Mom's probably going to freak at what happened to us."

"…Actually, I'm not so sure she will."

"Hm?" I looked over my shoulder at him, or tried to, anyway.

"When Machiko told me those little bits of information those two times, something didn't seem to add up. So when I had some spare time, I did some research, running a background check on your parents, as it were."

"And?"

"Before I answer that, whenever your sister mentioned your father _telling_ you two anything…was that an official memory?"

"Actually…no. Mother always said that Father taught us what to do with our powers and shape-shifting abilities, and that it had happened before our official first memories. Mother was the one who said Father had escaped from Black Black Club, not Father himself. He was gone by then. Why?"

"Well…I'm not sure which piece of information will be more shocking to you: the part where your mother had actually killed your father, or the part where your mother's a demon as well."

I flinched. That was my only physical reaction, since I had no color combination for shock. "What?"

"It's a good thing your colors make you so easy to read, because I can tell I haven't offended or upset you. Your mother's a B-class apparition who got stuck in Living World. Your father was technically a D-class."

"So we're full-demons, not half-demons like we'd thought."

"Correct."

"…Sensui told us we were in the middle of D-class."

"He'd have been trying to yank your tails, getting you to dash across the barrier after him. You're actually more in C-class, Machiko somewhat higher than you."

"Now that, Sensui did tell us." I cocked my head. "Did you…speak to Mother?"

"Briefly, on the phone. I had to mention who I was and that I knew what her daughters looked like before she spoke to me as an apparition. I'd asked her about her husband."

"And? What'd she say?"

"Ah…the word 'Neanderthal' comes to mind, along with a few more words that would sound more appropriate coming out of Yusuke's mouth."

* * *

When we arrived on the other side, Koenma let go of me and Pu grabbed the knot of our tails with his beak, lifting us off his neck.

Of course, that resulted in us swinging towards each other and bonking heads. _That _woke Machiko up. She gave the still-unconscious Hiei to Kuwabara and we balanced on our hands to untie our tails. Then we leaped into the lake to try to get cleaned up.

Kuwabara carried Hiei on his back out of the cave.

* * *

"Yay! They're all alive!" Boton called excitedly as we came into the light. And somehow Keiko recognized Yusuke under all that hair. She ran over and leaped into his arms.

"You…you look good!"

_And that's her response?_

"Yeah, well, I thought I'd try a change."

The others ran over and started talking about what had happened. Yanagisawa's remark was probably the funniest: "Man, I would kill to have my hair grow that fast."

"Is this a press conference?" Yusuke ended up saying, "Give me a break! Like I know how this happened!" Suddenly, his energy changed a tad. "Hold those thoughts, guys, I gotta take care of something."

The guys who'd been sent to seal the tunnel were ready to fight us!

I liked what Yusuke ended up declaring at them. "Look, I don't start fights with the defenseless, but you guys are really starting to piss me off, and that's an entirely different thing! And since you're all new here, I'll give you a tip: threatening the guy who helped save us will definitely piss me off! Koenma did what he had to in order to save us, and if getting rid of you is the only way to protect him, then I swear I'll kill you all, one by one!"

Watching the moustached doofus recoil in fear was actually kind of amusing.

At least the guy had a brain. "Much as I'd love to accept the challenge, sealing the tunnel takes precedence. Let me personally assure you, this isn't over!" Then he and his pals went back into the cave.

After they left, Yusuke turned to Koenma. "Sorry, was that a little much?"

At least…I think he was talking to Koenma. Keiko was on that side, too.

Koenma answered, anyway. "Not at all, Yusuke. Took the words right from my mouth!"

* * *

Then we set off to do…I don't know what. Machiko definitely needed a shower to clean off her hair, the cave's lake had been of limited assistance in that quarter.

Speaking of hair, Kurama helped Yusuke lose his extra. I'd asked Yusuke if I could keep it, and his basic response was "Don't know why you'd want it, but I sure as hell don't care."

We all sort of parted ways after that. Machiko and I still stayed in touch with Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko and Shizuru, as we didn't really want to lose any friends we'd earned.

Things did get a little interesting after that, though…

* * *

**A/N: the last few episodes of Season 3 take credit.**


	13. Attractions

**_Attractions_**

**A/N: VERY QUICK SPOILER ALERT! If…anyone's concerned about reading anything with, um…a sexual element thrown in (aka, anything more detailed than "they kissed"), then be extremely wary reading Hiei's POV.**

* * *

**Kurama**

About a week after the Sensui incident, I caught an interesting smell at school. It took me a second to place the smell, and a little longer to place where it was coming from: Kamiko.

I remembered well enough all the times she'd ended up in my arms during that fiasco. To put it frankly, she intrigued me…maybe more than merely "intrigued." I wanted to get to know her a bit better. Her knowing I was a demon…and my knowing _she_ was one…would help in our communications, at least a little.

I slipped up behind her, into a range that was a bit more believable for a human identifying a smell, and took another breath. "Is that mint, Kamiko?"

She lifted her hair with a smile to show a couple of small mint stems tucked into her ponytail. "My little garden had overgrown a bit, so I decided to take some with me today. If you want one to go with that rose of yours, you can have one."

"I'd like that, thank you." I considered plucking one myself, but decided that'd be a bit too forward for our being at school.

She tugged one stem free and let her hair fall again, turning to face me. "I always liked the smell of mint, and it's so easy to grow." She held the small stem out.

I took it from her and twirled it a little with my fingers, watching the leaves spin. Then I looked up at her. "Kamiko…would you care to join me for…lunch, today?"

Her eyes grew wide, and a small smile played on her face. "I'd like that, thank you!"

The fact that she'd repeated back what I'd said to her was not lost on me; I smiled right back as I hid the mint in my hair.

* * *

We sat together at the back of the cafeteria. For a couple minutes, neither of us said anything. Then I decided to start the conversation. "So…what did you do with Yusuke's cut hair?"

A small giggle escaped her. "I still can't believe I asked to keep all of it. Um…I'm weaving it into a cloth. I haven't…quite decided yet what I'm going to do with the cloth."

"Are you weaving it…like you do with, ah, your own hair?"

Her face turned a bit pink. "Ah…figured that out, did you?"

"Eventually, yes. So…"

"Yeah. …Maybe I will make it into, um…clothing. I don't know. For the Emperor's clothing, I have to use my own hair…"

"The Emperor's…oh!" I laughed. "The Emperor's New Clothes! Of course! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, go on…"

She grinned at me. "Actually, Matchy coined that first. But anyway, I could make some footwear or gloves from Yusuke's hair. …Maybe both – that was a lot of hair."

I nodded in agreement, and we both fell silent again.

After another minute of silence, Kamiko spoke. "Okay, if this is Q-and-A, then it's my turn: how's Hiei doing? He's all Machiko will talk about nowadays."

I blinked for a second. Then I nodded. "He's…Hiei."

"That just about sums it up. Matchy said Yusuke was going to make sure he got that Chapter Black tape…"

"Oh, he got it. He destroyed it."

She stared at me. "He…destroyed it." She sounded like she wasn't sure what to make of that.

"Sliced it with his sword and then claimed his sword slipped."

She started giggling again. "That's so Hiei! If he does something that's ultimately for the benefit of humankind, he claims it's an accident!" Then she cocked her head. "There's something that's been bugging me a little – not all the time, just when I happen to be reminded. In the Hell Cave, or whatever it was called, when you were going to attack Gourmet…Hiei had…blocked my view of what you were going to do. I didn't _mind_, if just seeing what Toguro looked like afterwards made me throw up then I didn't _want_ to see the deed that happened first…" her face had turned slightly greenish upon that part of her sentence, but it quickly faded again as she shoved the memory away, "but my question is: why? Why did he go to that trouble to make sure I never saw?"

I stared at her for a second. "I asked him about that, believe it or not."

"Ah…and here I thought you'd been focused on Gourmet."

"I was; that didn't stop me from being aware of my allies."

"So what did he say? Did he even bother to answer?"

"Hiei answers me straight when I ask him a question…usually, anyway, which is somewhat more than he does for Yusuke or Kuwabara. He said that there were two parts to his deciding to do that for you. The first part was that he was amused by you."

Kamiko blinked at me. "Amused? How in the world did I _amuse_ _him_?"

"Ah…" _How do I put this?_ "I did request clarification on that one. I had a theory, but I wanted to be sure. Um…"

After a second of silence, she glided her hand across the table towards me. "My ability to read minds isn't limited to Machiko; it just usually requires physical contact or eye contact. A really good connection requires both."

I looked at her hand for a second. Then I set my hand over hers and looked back up at her eyes. After getting briefly distracted by the deep amethyst color – that had been the first time I'd truly made eye contact – I spoke, letting the images that associated freely with the words appear in the front of my mind. "You amused Hiei when he saw your…what did Machiko call that? Your 'Keep Away From Me' fear coloration. It reminded him of what he looks like in his fully powered demon form." The picture she was probably seeing in my mind was two images side by side: Kamiko in that coloration and Hiei powered up.

I knew exactly when she got it: she started laughing. "I look like him when I do that! No wonder he was amused!" Then she cocked her head. "But amusement doesn't seem like quite enough of a reason."

"Which brings me to the other reason he'd named: you reminded him of his sister." The quiet girl appeared in my mind.

And as we were still touching, still looking at each other's eyes, Kamiko saw her. "Oh. So…Kuwabara was completely wrong in his assessment of her during the perception challenge?"

I cocked my own head. "You hadn't come into the room for that point; did Machiko tell you about it, or had you been eavesdropping through her?"

"Yes. So am I right?"

My smile started to change into a grin. "Actually…yes…in fact, he's met Yukina himself." _And he's in love with her._

Her eyes got round. "Wait…a…minute…" a grin was starting to tug at her face. "So…Kuwabara might possibly…end up Hiei's brother-in-law?"

Suddenly, an image leaped into my head through the connection. The angle was a little odd, and there was a general tone that said "Machiko's memory." The memory was looking up at Yusuke and Hiei as Hiei was walking away.

"_Look, what I'm trying to say…is I could really use your help on this one. Kuwabara could really use your help on this one." Yusuke asking for help._

"_But I hate Kuwabara." Hiei's response._

We both started laughing. Kamiko laughed so hard she started crying. "At least," she gasped, "at least he's honest!"

I lifted my hand from hers to brush the tears from her face. And that was when I noticed something interesting.

Where my hand had been resting on hers, there was a light purple splotch in the vaguest shape of a handprint. And there ended up being a light purple streak where I brushed the tear away, a streak that had for an instant had hair-thin white stripes sparking away from it.

"Kamiko?"

She gasped a couple more times. Then she blinked up at me, her face still filled with mirth. "Hm?"

I pointed to her hand. "I've been meaning to ask you: what does that color mean? It's not the first time I've seen it, but I'm not sure…"

She stared at her hand. "What, lavender?" Then her neck – a nice well-hidden spot, only someone right in front of her would see it, and they'd have to look for it – turned a bright rose-red as the splotch on her hand faded. "I'm, um, not ready to talk about it yet."

"I see." Then I tapped my own face about equivalent to where I'd brushed the tear away. "You've got more lavender, ah, here." It was in slightly the wrong placement to be makeup; best to clear it away before anyone noticed.

She did manage to return her face to normal, and to tone down the red on her neck to a shade closer to what she'd picked for a flesh tone. "Thank you. I…I _will_ tell you what lavender means…eventually."

The bell rang, and we went to class.

As we walked, I glanced at her. "You really do have trouble with your color holds, don't you?" I…_thought_ 'color holds' was the term I was looking for; I didn't actually take art class here. What I meant, and hoped she would read into what I'd said, was that her colors 'bled' easily into something else.

She sighed. "It stems from the fact that technically I don't have a color. Mother told me when I was old enough to start interacting with other children to pick a set of colors to wear all the time and stick with it – you know, one color for the hair, one color for the skin. After ten-plus years, the blonde with fair skin has become habit...mostly. Blending in with humans is hard; my coloration is something I have to keep in the back of my head all the time, so that my emotions don't betray me."

"Would you rather have a demon life?"

She paused. By then, we'd arrived at our next class. Then she looked at me again. "Watch my face in class – I'll note you."

I wasn't sure what she meant, but I nodded.

We chose seats next to each other, and then I got to see what she meant: she was _writing words across her cheek with a thought!_ She'd put a sentence on her face and then look at me from the corner of her eye, making sure I'd caught it. I would nod at her to signal that I'd read it, and she'd write another sentence.

In this method, I received her answer:

"_I've been thinking about that off and on for __weeks__months__years__ a while. On the one hand, I wouldn't have to be thinking about my coloration all the time even subconsciously – demons wouldn't care. On the other hand, though, from what I've seen of Demon World, it's… A bloodbath, a gauntlet, a survival-of-the-fittest type of world, and I'm not a fighter particularly. I got some basic survival skills when I visited, learning how to use my claws and tail in self-defense by going on offense, but I don't WANT to fight anyone. I'm torn, and I don't know what I'd pick if someone asked me to decide within five minutes; Machiko would choose Demon World in a heartbeat, but she's also had difficulty socializing here. Besides, she's got…other motivation._"

_True._ I nodded one last time as the final sentence faded off her face. Then I returned my attention to the class…mostly. There was one other thing about Kamiko that I hadn't been able to read very well during the Sensui incident, and that had been…

_The wind blew Kamiko towards me, and I released her tail before she impacted me. My hands ended up resting on the backs of her still-spread wings – they too were covered in short silky fur. I knew this was hardly the easiest way for the two of us to stay in the air, so I started sliding my hands upwards along her wings towards the leading edges. Her fur was short enough to where it didn't have a _direction_ that it flowed in, but I was still pushing it in an odd direction compared to its usual state. And when I started doing that, her wings started trembling; not a great amount, but to someone touching her it was noticeable. What had it felt like to her when I did that?_

* * *

**Machiko**

I'd gotten myself into some advanced schooling with Genkai after the Sensui incident. She'd taken one 'look' at my desire and basically said "All right, but be prepared for me to go even harder on you because you're a demon."

And what's my desire? "I want to be able to fight Hiei into the ground!"

The techniques I'd learned in the Forest of Fools got refined, and I got some practice in channeling my demon energy. Mostly I used that channeling to up my speed.

Genkai even set up a complicated obstacle course, turned to me and said, "Fly that. I'll be timing you."

So I started practicing flying more. At first, I crashed a lot. Then I was slower than I'd like. But finally I got good enough to where Genkai decided to put weights on me while I was flying so that if I ever had to carry somebody my size again, I'd be strong enough to last longer than five minutes. And also, finally I got to try turning on a wingtip in a space barely big enough for me! Genkai had started me turning on a wingtip in an open area first, and then started narrowing the opening. "No sense crashing when you've never done this before."

Kamiko didn't join us much; she basically only showed up for the flying practice. She wasn't as fast as me – _nobody's_ as fast as me – but she'd earned the weights and she'd mastered the Hallway Wingtip Turn, as I liked calling it. Personally, I felt she'd only mastered that first because she was taking that move slower than I was.

Did Hiei ever appear to watch? Well…uh…I don't know. If he did, I never saw him, or sensed him.

* * *

**Hiei**

I stood in a tree and watched as the two demon-girls flew an obstacle course. When I'd first started watching them, they were clumsy at this, which meant either they'd just started or they'd been doing this for a while and I'd come in after Genkai had added something to make this harder. It had been a couple of weeks now, though, and they were getting better. Occasionally they went within walls, and I had to resort to my Jagan Eye to watch them.

In my opinion, the part where they had to turn on a wingtip in a closed-off area that was smaller than their wingspan was the highest point of their training. This was largely because even though I had to use my Jagan Eye in order to even see them in it, there was plenty of space to watch either spectacular performances or spectacular failures. One of my personal favorites was when Machiko flew into that hallway at top speed, came up on a right angle and actually succeeded in spinning on her wingtip.

A two-hundred-and-seventy-degree spin; if she'd spun ninety degrees or one hundred eighty degrees, she'd have gone out at least _a_ corridor, but as it was she hit a wall. That got a small laugh out of me. "Well…you almost had it."

Whenever those girls ended up on their wing-bearing backs, I would almost feel sorry for them, but at the same time I was taking notes. _When they're in this form, if they end up on their backs with their wings spread, they can't get up until they've put their wings away._

After a time, Kamiko would continue running the obstacle course while Genkai would take Machiko aside for some actual combat training. She was getting good.

…She was getting _very_ good.

She was probably gaining on being a B-class demon by now. Machiko had some serious driving force behind her training.

* * *

A few days later, I decided I was going to speak with her...possibly more than just speak. I leaped down from my tree and approached the course.

I didn't actually find Machiko first. I found that hag Genkai first. "Hiei. What brings you here?"

"Not much; just wondering how those demon-twin girls have been doing under your instruction." _Nothing personal._

A small smirk appeared on her face. "Well, Kamiko had no interest in actually refining the combat techniques she learned in Demon World, only in strengthening her flying capabilities."

_That fits with what I've observed._

"Machiko would probably do much better in her flight practice if she actually attempted the maneuvers at something less than Mach Five. Her combat skills have improved, though."

"Improved, hm? Improved by how much?"

Then I sensed a presence behind me. "Tch: Hiei. Oh, I've improved, all right – I'd probably knock you flat in less than a minute."

I glared over my shoulder at Machiko, who was standing in an 'at ease' position lounging against the door frame with her tail twirling about her ankles and her arms crossed over her chest. However, my glare quickly turned into a stare. _Why does she always work out in such a short shirt?* Does she have any idea just how hot she looks dressed like that? _"You know, you are really asking for it!" _Asking for what, anyway? _My voice sounded harsh in my own ears. I couldn't help it; lately I'd felt more than a little hypnotized by her stripes just watching her, and at this moment with her standing right in front of me she was more fascinating than ever. Somehow, I was having trouble thinking straight.

Her golden eyes blazed and a fierce grin spread over her face. "I'm _begging_ for it! Who's going to give it to me – you?"

_And with that challenge, she's sealed her fate. This girl is mine._

I let a grin of my own appear. "Oh, absolutely!"

"Okay, I'll only set one condition for weapons."

I cocked my head. _Not quite what I've got in mind, but it's a start. _"Name it."

"You don't use that dragon tattoo, and while I might still spread my wings, I won't actually fly."

"Deal!" _The Dragon of the Darkness Flame takes a great deal of energy I'd rather use elsewhere, anyway, and it's not like I'm interested in killing her._

She glanced at Genkai. "Shall you be referee?"

The hag shrugged. "I'll definitely be monitoring you two." She led the way to a large cave. "This will be your arena. Try not to bring the roof down on yourselves. Ready!"

I took a stance at one side of the cave, and Machiko stood ready on the other side.

"Begin!"

The first thing either of us did was start running. We were racing about the room, ricocheting off of stalactites and stalagmites, or off the walls themselves, studying each other and seeking an opening to strike. She nearly equaled me in speed, and it was possible she was still wearing weights at this moment underneath those green ankle-bands, so maybe she truly was my equal in that quarter! I tossed my sword to the side quickly; I wouldn't need it.

In that moment of distraction, I felt something soft, warm and strong grab my ankle and I was yanked off my feet and spun around!

I barely had a chance to see that she'd caught me with the end of her tail before she lost her grip and sent me flying towards another stalactite. I didn't get my feet behind me in time and broke right through it.

"Whoo! You want some more of this?" Machiko called to me.

I stood up and dusted off. _Machiko, there's no way you're getting rid of me! _"I'm just getting started!" Then, with a grin, I rushed straight for her.

Then she delivered a kick to my stomach, sending me back into a stalagmite. And that kick tipped me off to something else.

I'd seen her training; I'd seen her use her feet to completely rip apart bags with a particular twitch. However, the kick she just gave me had been an ordinary side kick.

_She doesn't want to kill me, either._

"Giving up, shorty?" she called.

"Why?" I got up again. "Are you getting tired?"

"Who, me?" She was breathing harder than before. She probably _was_ getting tired. All to the better: it would mean she wouldn't be able to escape me when I choose to make her mine. Of course, then _she_ rushed _me_ with a series of punches, spreading her wings to give herself an assisted jump and rain those punches on me from above.

I didn't get touched until I had to deflect her kicks as well. Then I was getting scratched a bit.

Then her tail tripped me up from behind just about the time her parachute trick ran out. I landed hard on my back, her feet grabbed my ankles and her hands grabbed my wrists. She probably thought she had successfully pinned me.

_Riight…_ Oh, I was _pinned,_ all right, but it wouldn't hold me for long.

"Do you yield, Hiei?" She was gleaming with sweat, and she was even sexier now than she'd been when I first saw her today.

Just recognizing that fact sent my own temperature up a few degrees. Rational thought was leaving, but one thing occurred to me while I was lying there. "You don't know all that much about demons, do you?" Then I slipped my left wrist out of her sweat-slick grasp - my bandaged right wrist wouldn't have moved as readily - grabbed her shoulder and dragged myself upwards towards her.

Her right arm gave out, making us tip over. I didn't care; when her feet lost their grip on my ankles, I hooked one leg over her hip and forced a continuation of that roll, resulting in her winding up on her back and me sitting on her.

I paused for just a second, studying her - every stripe, every detail. "You have no idea," my voice rasped, "what you've been trying to do." Then I grabbed the shoulder strap of her shirt, leaned down swiftly and set my teeth into her collarbone.

**Machiko**

I yelped right around here. Of all that Hiei could possibly have done right then, I wasn't expecting him to bite me!

Yelping was about all I could do, because I was stuck trying to decide what I was going to do first: shove him off or put away my wings. Both tasks required about the same amount of focus, especially when I was tired and he was clearly determined to hang on -

Then I felt a sudden energy surge enter the place where Hiei was clinging to me with his teeth. _Is this...Hiei's demon energy? What's he doing?_

Yeah...I regretted not asking Mother more about demons since learning that I was a full one. I also regretted not mentioning Hiei to her.

* * *

I don't know how long we lay there. Hiei's energy flowing into me kind of made time...unimportant.

When the energy flow stopped, though, I got my brain working enough to ask. "Hiei...what was that? And while we're at it, what did you mean I didn't know what I was trying to do?"

He let go, finally. He didn't answer immediately, though - he sat there for a second, studying his handiwork on me. After that second, though, his expression turned very, ah...I think that expression on him means he's satisfied; I can read Kamiko far easier than this guy, there was a lot of energy surging around him I didn't get. "That is a message to other demons." He traced a kind of circle around it with his fingers.

"...What...kind...of...message?" I couldn't get more intelligent than that at the moment.

Finally he made eye contact. And that was when I understood all the 'warning signs' I'd been getting every time I'd either made eye contact before, hit him or otherwise grabbed him.

He wasn't in a usual state. Intelligent, rational thought was the last thing on his mind right now. There was, in fact, only one thing on his mind right now.

"A message that says you're mine," his voice had that weird harsh tone again. "Mine and no one else's."

I didn't have time to react to that before he bent down again. This time, though, he kissed me full on the mouth!

Well, now I could effectively say I knew what it felt like to be kissed by a live power cord, because that was about what it felt like. Hiei's energy was still sparking chaotically, and it came through in that kiss.

Weirdly enough, though...I kind of liked it.

_Come on, Machiko,_ I thought to myself, _this is what you'd been hoping for, even though it didn't come in quite the package you were expecting! Try to get back _some_ control of the situation!_ I ignored my wings and kissed him back.

I'll be the first to say I...had no experience with any kind of romance...okay, fine, I'll say it: I'm a virgin. I knew the possibility that Hiei was going to hurt me, accidentally or on purpose, was quite real. Still, I have every intention of enjoying myself for as long as the only pain I was feeling was that ownership mark he'd just given me. (Actually, it didn't hurt all that much anymore; maybe it was Hiei's energy dulling the pain or something.)

I lost control of the situation again almost immediately. For one thing, Hiei deepened the kiss. Then he broke off the kiss and started licking my neck.

I was wearing fur on my neck at that moment - spreading my wings tends to give me most, if not all, of my fur - but he didn't seem to care. He hadn't cared about the fur when he bit me, though, so I guess he's just ignoring it. I cared, though: with every touch that shoved my short fur around one way or another, I got shivers! Yeah...around then was when I almost completely forgot just about everything but the moment.

Almost.

_"**Ka-Kamiko, what ti-ooh...time is it?**"_

_"**It's five-fift-...Machiko, what's going on?**"_

_"**Aaaahhh...**"_ It's impossible to lie in telepathy; or if it is, I can't do it with Kamiko. But Hiei had chosen that moment to drag the elastic of my sport bra upwards and apply the attention of his mouth and hands to my breasts, and that made me lose practically all my mental coherency. Plus, I started shuddering and...I think I was making sounds, but I'm not sure.

_"**Machiko. Dinner's at six-fifteen, you're the one who has to set the table today, it takes at least forty-five minutes to fly home from Genkai's and if you're going to make it home in time to avoid losing your allowance, you need to be ready to fly at five-thirty.**"_

I tried to get my brain working to translate what she'd told me. _I need to leave at five-thirty...it's five-fifteen, that's...ooh, Hiei...that's all Kamiko could have been about to say then..._

Hiei shifted so he was sitting on my legs, and his hands caught the waistband of my workout shorts.

And that was when the world suddenly snapped into near-painful clarity. _I don't know how long it would take me to recover from what Hiei's planning to do to me! If I let him follow through, the odds of my making it home in time aren't all that good! ...I'm beat, though. He let me wear myself out on him in our scuffle before turning the tables._

_"**I...might need rescuing. Bring K-K-Kurama.**"_ A conversation I'd had with Hiei some time back - I don't remember why we were being civil that day - he'd told me that he'd picked Kurama as his partner because he knew he wouldn't kill the fox. I'd read "wouldn't" as "couldn't." _"**I'll try to stall Hiei.**"_

_"**O...kaayyy...**sister dear, you got yourself into a situation again, didn't you? At least this one isn't likely to kill you. **I'll find Kurama.**"_

_"**Don't take too long!**"_ Granted, I didn't have anything against what Hiei wanted, but...his timing could have been better.

The first thing I did was tug my sport bra back down. If Kurama was really going to show up, I didn't want to be indecently exposed. I left my wings out; after all, if I was going to be flying in fifteen minutes, there was no point putting them away.

I closed my wings and started attempting to sit up again...preferably sitting up without lifting my hips and giving him the opportunity to undress me. My biggest problem was, if my wings were present, the only way I could get the momentum I needed to sit up was if I lifted my hips. _Hiei, you cunning...beast! You managed to maneuver me into a situation I can't get up from!_

Then Hiei's laugh rang out inside my head! _"**You're just as good at the maneuvering! You managed to challenge me to a fight during my mating season!**"_

It was as if my world had come to a complete halt. Two reasons for that. Reason One: that was the first time Hiei had spoken to me telepathically. Reason Two...

_Mating season? Demons have mating seasons?_

_Interesting trivia, Machiko, but don't you think you'd better work on stalling him for fifteen minutes?_

"Ah..." I reached down and caught hold of his wrists. "I've...never done this before, and I need to be flightworthy fifteen minutes from now."

The look he gave me for a few seconds was nearly blood-chilling. "Is there someone else?" His voice was just as dangerous.

_"**Kamiko, having Kurama show his face right this second would be a singularly bad idea.**"_

_"**I heard that, don't worry.**"_

"Just...Mother. Kamiko and I take turns setting the table for dinner - it's a human thing that we still do even though we're demons - and today's my turn. Mother will probably punish me if I'm late, that's all."

His diamond-hard gaze softened again. "I see. Very well: the consummation of our being mates can take place some other time, when it's more convenient."

_He backed down awfully easily..._ I was just starting to relax, letting my rigidly-closed wings start to open again.

You'd think I'd know better than to relax around an aroused fire demon. (Yes, I'd figured/found out that he was a fire demon some time ago.) Hiei suddenly all but vaulted off my legs and laid himself out on my left wing! "Still...even without the consummation, there's a great deal that can be done in fifteen minutes." With his right hand, he pulled my sport bra back up partway, and his left hand suddenly outright slipped under my waistband!

"Whoa!" I yelped, my right wing flailing for some kind of leverage.

He laughed softly, his breath sending shivers through my short fur.

Then he did...something...with his left hand, and I got lost in sensation. I tried to keep hold of something resembling sanity, but it was probably the hardest thing I'd ever done. I couldn't even imagine what it would be like if he used his tongue down there!

* * *

**Hiei**

I could tell she was no longer keeping track of time. Fortunately, now that I knew time needed to be marked, I was. When ten minutes had passed, and she was a shivering pile of striped fur, I withdrew my hand.

She lifted one of her hands and studied its shaking with dazed bedroom-eyes.

"Is your sister coming?" I asked. My heat was starting to cool, and I wasn't being controlled by the need to take her anymore.

"Hm?" She turned those golden eyes towards me.

"You have a sister. Is she coming here?"

"Oh. Mmm...yeah." Her voice was a little slurred.

I looked again at the mark I'd left. A smile barely made it onto my face. Then I got off her wing and held out my hand.

It took her a second, but she accepted the help. And for the record, I only offered her help because I knew she had trouble getting up when her wings were involved and I doubted she was going to put her wings away at this point.

When she was upright, she wobbled badly, her wings flaring. "Whoa-oh!" Her voice was slowly becoming clear again. "That...was...intense." Then she glared over her shoulder. "And I think my tail fell asleep."

I laughed a little. Then I walked around behind her and caught her tail, which sure enough hadn't been swishing right before I caught it.

"Kamiko...might be bringing Kurama. She was concerned that...she was concerned for me."

"I see." I ran my fingers through the fur of her tail.

"You're taking that information...better than I thought you would." I heard a shift of cloth-on-fur, and guessed she'd just pulled her shirt back down.

"I'd warned Kurama off of you a few days ago."

Her tail glided through my hands until I was only holding the last couple feet of it as she spun around to stare at me. "You didn't!"

"I wanted him to know I considered you mine, even though I had yet to mark you. He agreed, basically saying he'd had no interest in you anyway."

"You were that sure of yourself?"

"I was that sure of myself when I saw you after you'd had some training in the Forest of Fools. It only got stronger with time."

Machiko didn't have time to answer that before her sister walked in. "Actually, Kurama, I'd have been able to track down Machiko even without asking Master Genkai where she'd sent them."

_Huh; when had Genkai left?_

"True," Kurama answered her as he followed, "but it's still a good idea to ask." He looked at us as I walked back around into view, letting Machiko's tail finish sliding out of my grasp. "Hello, Hiei." Then his eyes tracked over to Machiko. I knew at once he was looking at my mark. "So you finally got around to it?"

"Yes."

"Matchy," Kamiko took a couple running steps toward us, "are you okay?"

My mate shrugged. "Yeah, I'm good." Then she struck a pose I'd come to recognize as "ready to run." "So let's get going, sis!"

Priming to run put her shirt's strap easily within my reach. I caught it and pulled her over for one last scorching kiss on her lips. "Catch you later." Then I turned to leave.

Out of the corner of my eye, right before I leaped off, I saw Kamiko's color change while she was staring at her sister.

She'd turned a very bright green.

_Hm; I think this is the first time I've ever actually seen someone turn green with envy._

**Kamiko**

I was well aware I'd gone green over that extremely possessive kiss Hiei had just given my sister. I couldn't help it. It was just…I couldn't figure out any good way to, um, 'court' Kurama, and here was Machiko, having just managed to scuffle her way into Hiei's heart. Kurama was an enigma to me still.

Machiko was in point. I was flying in her slipstream just off her left wing. She hadn't noticed my color yet, and if I had any say about it, she never would see what color I'd taken upon Hiei's farewell kiss.

But oh…it just left me so…

In the next wingbeat, my color shifted from envy-green to a melancholy dark gray. _It's so unlikely that Kurama will try to kiss me, it's depressing. _I_ was the one to kiss _him_ that one time, and that was on the cheek. I wouldn't dare try anything like what Matchy received._

I did manage to get my colors to return to normal before we went into a dive and shot down into our backyard, spreading our wings with loud – to us – snaps to reverse our bodies mid-air and land lightly.

Machiko dashed inside, and I just heard her say "I'll get the table set in thirty seconds, Mom, don't worry!"

_Speed demon._

* * *

* **If Hiei knew girl's clothing, he'd have known that Machiko was wearing a sport bra. Of course, then the question would have been "where's her shirt?" The answer to that question is that she doesn't bother wearing a shirt when she knows she's going to spread her wings; her mom had complained numerous times about having to mend a ripped shirt, and at least if a sport bra gets ripped the damage can be hidden underneath a shirt.**

**A/N 2: Thanks for the suggestions on making Hiei's actions more believable!**


	14. At Home With Mother

**_At Home With Mother_**

**A/N: Like I decided in a different fic, from now on I'll only note a POV at the beginning of the chapter if it changed between chapters; otherwise, it's whoever was talking last in the previous chapter.**

* * *

Supper was an uneasy time tonight. I kept stealing glances at Mother, and Mother was glancing constantly at the new mark on Machiko's collarbone – my sister hadn't bothered to put a shirt on since getting home, which would have hidden it. Machiko was the only one of us three still acting normal.

Meanwhile, I was studying Mother a little more carefully. Now that I knew she was an apparition just like Father had been…just like we are…I could spot a few extra differences. When we'd come home from Demon World, Machiko – having learned from me what Koenma had told me – immediately confronted Mother about the lie.

"_Why'd you tell us we were _half_-demons? Why'd you tell us you were human?"_

"…_Because in order to resign myself to the fact that I was trapped here, I had to do my best to forget what I truly was. And I had to raise you two alone. I needed to live as a human; and if accepting that easier meant forgetting, at least temporarily, that I was a demon, so be it."_

All I'd been curious about was which of our parents we'd actually gotten our appearances from. When I'd asked, she'd laughed.

"_Technically, you'd gotten your appearances from both of us. The fact that you can spread wings and grow horns comes from your father. Not every demon looks like a monster – a great deal of them wear human faces. I'm one of those, in fact, which is why I could work to fit in somewhat easier than others. And I'm the reason you can attain a more human form. Machiko, your coloration comes from both of us – he'd been pure white and I…well." She ran her fingers through her long black hair. "You got his eyes, too."_

"_So I got your eyes?" It was all I could think of for my purple eyes._

_She turned to me and nodded. "Frankly, your colors have confused me. I've tried to do research on both our lines, trying to find out if that has happened before. So far, I haven't had any luck tracing the chameleon ability."_

Watching her now, something occurred to me. In all my life, I've never once seen Mother wearing anything of a lower cut than a turtleneck – she didn't wear turtlenecks, not all the time, but neck-huggers. She seemed to even judge T-shirts to be too low-cut for herself. Could she…could she have a similar mark to Machiko's?

I'd picked up from Machiko while we were flying home what the mark meant.

Then, finally, Mother asked. "Who is he?"

Somehow, the fact that she knew what the mark was didn't surprise me.

Machiko had just gotten a large mouthful. She glanced at me.

I glanced at my hair where it lay over my shoulder and saw the stripes forming. Mother apparently noticed it as well, for her attention became divided.

I sat up straight and, not under my own power, spoke. "You probably don't know him. His name's Hiei."

Mother's eyes hardened. "Actually, I have heard of him, _Machiko._ I hear he's a criminal trapped in the Human World as punishment for what he's done."

Machiko shrugged and I spoke again. "He's not so bad. He helped save the Human World a while back."

"Because there was something in it for him, no doubt."

"Yeah, there was something in it for him, but when he finally got it, he wrecked it on purpose!"

Machiko having me say that…I wasn't exactly surprised that she knew – we pick up on stuff fairly easily from each other, and we have no secrets; what one of us knows, the other soon does. (Yeah, it took me a little while to figure out she had a crush on Hiei, but she deliberately shielded that one from me.)

Mother's eyebrows lifted. "Really?"

Finally Machiko was able to swallow and take her speech back. "Really. Hiei's not as bad as he seems to be. He cares deeply about his sister, and he's actually friends with the newest Spirit Detective Yusuke."

Mother studied my sister for a few seconds without speaking. Then she cocked her eyebrows ironically. "I'd forbid you from seeing him, but you'd probably just ignore it, and besides, Hiei has already marked you as his wife; if you try to stay away from him, he'll likely just hunt you out again. However…" she went silent for another second, her gaze intensifying. "Has this relationship been…consummated?"

"No. He…he wanted to, pretty badly, but I was able to ward him off…somehow. If we had, I probably wouldn't have made it home in time to set the table."

_Consumm…oh. That. Right._

"Well, before you do, I want to meet him. That is the only requirement I'm placing on this relationship – that before you have any of his children, I must see him."

Machiko nodded.

Then Mother turned her attention to me with an ironic smile. "And what about you? Are there any demon-boys with their eye on you, or vice versa?"

I turned neon-pink – which is my standard color combination for shy (pale pink) and embarrassed (bright red). "Um…yes and no?"

"How can it be yes and no?"

"Um…I don't know if any demon-boys have their sights on me…but…remember my telling you about Suichi?"

"Yes, I remember; a very sweet boy in your class with very good grades, right?"

"Yeah…apparently, he's a demon, and Suichi's his human name."

"Oh!"

Machiko decided to be an obnoxious sister right then. "Yeah, and Kami's got her sights set on him!"

I glared at her, letting my color darken to somewhere between my anger-shade and my embarrassment-shade.

"Machiko, behave. So, if Suichi's his human name, what's his name really?"

I glanced at her again, my color fading in my uncertainty. If she wasn't keen on Hiei the criminal, what would she say to my dating… "…Kur…a…ma?"

Mother stared at me. Then she pushed her chair back. "We'll talk in the morning."

My color paled into white. _Discussing matters in the morning…things aren't boding well for me._

Machiko leaned over and punched my shoulder. "Hey, chill out! She let me have Hiei, so why are you worried? Kurama's living as a human, isn't he? So there's no problem!"

I sighed, and envy-green stripes painted themselves over me. "She let you have Hiei, as you so naïvely put it, because she didn't have much choice – he marked you. She's only got two options in your case: let you keep him, or kill him herself. And she's sworn off killing for the sake of her human life. I don't have any similar mark from Kurama," _and I'm unlikely to get one from him,_ "so she can far more easily forbid me from dating him. For crying out loud, Kurama has yet to _kiss_ me!"

Then Machiko took in my colors. "Kami…are you actually jealous of me and Hiei?"

The green stripes widened and wiped away the fear-white. "What tipped you off?"

Machiko just stared at me for a few seconds. Then she cocked her head. "The bright green with your purple eyes is a very striking look, by the way."

With one final sigh, I forced my colors to return to my standard. "Let's just finish the dishes and go to bed."

* * *

_Yoko Kurama approached me. His golden eyes, so like and yet unlike my sister's, were fixed directly on me. I was trying to hide, for something about his gaze was unnerving, and yet he could see me anyway._

"_You can't hide from me," he said as he reached out a hand with delicate sharp nails towards me. "I will always be able to find you. You are the most beautiful treasure a thief could ever hope to steal."_

_I moved to get out of his range – but not soon enough. He caught my shoulder and lowered the two of us to the ground, placing me on my back. My wings meant that I couldn't get up, and I really couldn't get up after he settled down over me._

_He caught my wrists and anchored them over my head, and I started thrashing my head back and forth, trying to avoid him. But the end result was inevitable – his lips came down on mine, and he forced his tongue into my mouth._

_I was in a dilemma. On the one hand, I was feeling amazing sensations I'd never felt before – when he started sliding his hand down my arm and to my breast, it felt like his fingers were leaving behind trails of lightning! But on the other hand, this wasn't how I'd wanted this to happen!_

_My world started spinning as he moved to set his mouth to my breast and – _

I fell out of bed and hit the floor.

I startled bolt upright with my eyes wide open and eyespots blazing.

Daylight was just barely streaming through our window. Machiko was just looking at me from the bed, propped up on her elbow and holding up a hand. "Easy. You were thrashing around, so I decided the best thing to do would be to wake you up."

I glanced around at myself. I didn't have my wings…but I didn't have my nightshirt, either. "Did the temperature go up in the night?" My losing my pajamas when I got overheated wasn't a new thing, though neither of us was sure how that happened without my waking up.

"Apparently." Machiko watched as I found and pulled on my nightshirt again. "You were changing colors in your sleep."

I stared at her again. "What?"

"Don't believe me? Sleep hanging from the ceiling like a bat at some point and I'll film it for you." She cocked her head. "I know we can, I've done it before."

I sighed. "I'll take your word for it." I knew my eyespots were fading again. They'd been fading for the past minute. "So what happened to my colors?"

"Well…okay, apparently when you're asleep, the 'Now You See Me, Now You Don't' coloration kicks in, because normally my bedmate's the Invisible Woman."

That didn't surprise me much: when asleep, one's vulnerable, and even in a 'safe' environment like my own room my body would attempt to protect me by hiding.

"However, when you dream, something else entirely happens. Your colors reflect what you're feeling in your dream. I've watched a few different shows when I wake up earlier than you. At least it helps me wake you up if you're having a nightmare."

"So what happened this time?" I sighed.

"This time…this time was weird. You went all lavender, but your 'Keep Away From Me' eyespots opened. And every so often, really light-colored streaks would appear, sparking like lightning."

My dream came flooding back to me.

"You were scared of something, but at the same time…I think maybe you…liked it?"

I glared at her. "I think I hate you."

"What did _I_ do?"

"You let Hiei touch you."

That silenced her while I got up and went for breakfast.

She caught up while I was eating. "You picked up on what I felt then through our twin link?"

I nodded.

"So what was the dream? Making out with Hiei or something?"

"_**My own subconscious combined with your possessiveness of the guy did that much, Matchy, it wasn't Hiei.**_"

"Okay…so who was it?"

"_**Remember what Kurama looked like in Demon World?**_" An image appeared in my mind of the silver-haired, pointed-eared fox-man. I swallowed my mouthful and added aloud, "I'd almost have preferred it if it _was_ Hiei."

That silenced Machiko again. After a second of staring at me – and I figured she was thinking something along the lines of "_your subconscious pulled the Spirit Fox?_" – she spoke again. "No wonder your eyespots opened, that guy would unnerve anybody."

"I know. Don't get me wrong, Yoko Kurama's hot, but…it's Suichi that I love."

"I'm glad to hear you say that."

Mother's voice from the doorway got us both jumping, and I know my colors rainbowed.

"I'm sorry, I thought you'd heard me. And Kamiko, I see you know about the Spirit Fox Yoko. And all I will say about you having any kind of relationship with Kurama is: if he should choose to live a human life, you may continue to date him with my blessing."

I went slightly pink, but said anyway, "Thank you, Mother."


	15. Separations

**_Separations_**

* * *

**Machiko**

Yusuke came by Genkai's one night. I was there. I had been training again on her flying obstacle course, but I got bored and when I noticed Yusuke, I glided over to the roof of her house to eavesdrop.

I missed the first thing Genkai said. I just heard the end of a sentence. "…Why would I take on yours?" After a second of silence – video game silence, they were apparently playing a fighting game – she added, "The truth is, you can do whatever you want. If you got mad enough, you could blow this whole world up and nobody would be strong enough to stop you."

I missed the rest of what she said in my shock. _Yusuke's gotten that powerful?_

Then I finally heard Yusuke's voice. "Easy, Doomsday, I just wanted advice." Then he shouted at the game he was playing.

"Everyone has something that matters to them that they can either protect or destroy. Kids have pets or toys, an adult has a child. Your something, Yusuke, just happens to be a whole lot bigger. With your new powers, you can control all our fates. So what's next? That's the question hidden beneath all your other feelings. Will you become the person that protects, or destroys?"

I stayed motionless, wondering how Yusuke would answer. I hadn't felt this tense since I'd finally managed to drag Hiei to my house to meet my mom five days ago. (We still haven't consummated our relationship, that little meeting had taken nearly the whole day; Mom shut herself and Hiei into a room and told me to bugger off, so I don't know what she said, and Hiei didn't want to talk about it. I haven't seen him since.)

His first reaction was an "Oh, come on," but Genkai ran over him. "Don't take it from me: I'm just an old hag."

I missed the next thing either of them said, as I was moving away from my position of above the door to avoid Genkai noticing me. Not that, in all likelihood, she didn't know I was there anyway.

In fact…

She looked up at the roof. "You're useless at hiding, Machiko, I knew you were there. I suppose you heard all that?"

"Most of it, yeah." I crept back down to the edge of the roof.

"I gave Yusuke the address of the first Spirit Detective. You might want to go with him to meet her."

"…Nah. He's the one with the life issues, not me."

* * *

A couple nights later, Botan came by to invite us to Genkai's for a meeting. We spread wings and followed her as she picked up Kuwabara as well. That idiot was so easy to manipulate: one mention of Yukina, and he was on board, no matter what the consequences to his studies were.

Kamiko picked up a book in his room. "Here." She wrote a quick note. "This'll explain everything to your sister, so that she doesn't get…_too_ irritated at you." Then she waved the book at him. "I'll help you study while we're moving, okay?"

"Uh…okay."

As it turned out, Shizuru spotted us before we left. Kamiko yelled that there was a note while we were booking it.

Speaking of books…I glanced at the book Kamiko was still holding. "Um…Kuwabara? You think she'll be mad that Kamiko just punched some holes in the book with her claws?"

"Huh? Oh, crap…Kamiko, tell me you didn't hit any of the words in that thing: I'm supposed to read that cover-to-cover!"

She unstuck the book and quickly flipped through it. "It looks okay to me. I only punched holes in the margins, and not even all the way through."

He breathed a sigh of relief. Then he squinted at me. "Hey, Machiko, you're really hard to see in the dark."

I glanced down at myself. "My stripes break up my image in the dark, I guess."

We finally made it to Genkai's. And that was when we learned that Yusuke was going back to Demon World.

Kamiko was yawning and rubbing her eyes; she didn't do night flights all that often, I was the night owl of the two of us by necessity.

I sighed as Kuwabara punched Yusuke across the room. "Men…"

Koenma ended up explaining to us how Yusuke had gotten a dishonorable discharge over his demonic heritage.

Suddenly we got some visitors through some strange portal! They looked like…Spirit World goons! Koenma said they'd volunteered to kick Yusuke back into Demon World!

Then it was Kamiko's turn to mutter "Men" under her breath. Though Kuwabara did kind of get our attention when he mentioned himself fighting off nasty demons with only help from Kurama and Hiei.

Suddenly, Hiei showed up! "I was personally invited to return to Demon World as well."

**Kamiko**

I suddenly felt dangerous energy surging around my sister. If she'd been me, she'd probably be turning a dark anger-red. I sincerely suspected everything else anyone was saying was going past her, and ultimately what she said proved it.

"Oh really?" Her voice held a great deal, and she approached the railing. "And…just _when_ were you going to tell me about this…Hiei?" Her hands gripped the railing, claws growing and beginning to splinter the wood.

He looked at her. And then he said probably the one thing he really shouldn't have.

"I wasn't."

A sound started building in her throat. Her demon energy started spiking. The Spirit World Defense people all went into a kind of on-guard stance.

I held my hand towards them. "Easy…her issue's not with you."

The sound she was making got louder as her feet got onto the railing as well, so that she was crouched on it. Then her mouth opened, and right as she leaped for Hiei the sound turned into an outright fighter-plane shriek!

I had just enough time to see Hiei's eyes widen before Machiko swung her hand and slapped Hiei across the face, sending him flying practically right to the Spirit World Defense peoples' feet! "_You idiot! You mark me as your own, meet my mother, ignore me for weeks afterwards and then the first time I see you again you don't think to inform me of that __**little detail**__ that you're LEAVING FOR GOOD?!"_

I glanced at the humans in the area. They mostly looked confused. I decided to be nice. "Hiei really stepped in it this time: he ticked off his new mate."

"Mate?" Yusuke stared at me. "What?"

I sighed and looked up at the sky. "Hiei chose Machiko to be his wife, and she agreed to it. As far as I know, neither of them has done anything about it, but…they're connected."

Kuwabara all but recoiled. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope."

Hiei stood up, rubbing his face, which was now sporting a couple of fine scratches and a red handprint-shaped blotch.

Then Kurama's voice floated out of the darkness. "Is it safe to come out?"

I turned in his direction. "Yeah, Machy's not angry with you, you didn't need to hide." Awful realization struck me. "Wait…you're not going too, are you?"

"I am. I've been summoned by the third demon king. I'll be leaving later than Yusuke and Hiei, for I have things to do first."

"Oh. Well…could you come see me before you go? I…" I looked down at my feet. "I'd gotten something put together for you, but I don't have it with me."

Glancing up again, I saw that a small smile had come onto Kurama's face. "Don't worry, I won't leave without saying goodbye like Hiei was evidently planning to do."

I snuck a glance at Machiko. She was still standing there glaring at Hiei. Then I tapped our twin link for a second.

My throat almost immediately started hurting.

With a tiny smirk, I let the link go. _That shriek of rage, followed by outright screaming at Hiei…I think she's just lost her voice. Small mercies._

Kuwabara had started shouting. I was tuning him out, although Hiei's retort was pretty funny.

I was just glad that Yukina was able to talk Kuwabara down. Then Yusuke and Kuwabara started muttering to each other.

I stole another glance at Hiei, who was studying Machiko finally. Then he walked over to her. "Machiko."

She didn't move, or speak. She just let out a soft hiss.

"I don't understand why you're so angry right now."

I glanced at my arm, and the stripes flowing over it. Then I leaped into the yard and, not under my own power, spoke. "I lost my voice with that shriek, Hiei, so I'm speaking through my sister. Had it never once occurred to you that I might have wanted to come _with_ you to Demon World?"

His eyes widened, though he was still staring at Machiko. "But you'd grown up here."

"And what kind of a life do you think I had? A perfect one? Get real; I was always cooped up inside because my hair was so outrageously different, and I could never just let go with my abilities. I lost my voice just now because I'd never had opportunity to practice that particular shriek of rage, and I'd have loved to practice it, by the way. I just don't fit in here." I was nearly feeling sorry for her just speaking her words; I knew it had been rough for her growing up, but I never knew how it felt.

"It wasn't a plus-one invitation, Machiko; I can't just bring a date."

Her stance changed: her claws were put away, and she returned to her standard form with a slight slouch. And, amazingly, tears were starting to appear in her eyes. "Hiei…I don't know what words would be used in Demon World to convey this message. I only know the human words, and they're even really cheesy for me. I…I love you, Hiei, and I…don't…want to lose you. I had no friends until I met you on that Yusuke-rescue mission, and Kamiko doesn't count because I'd been stuck with her since birth. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Hiei's expression was so strange at that moment. It was like he wasn't sure what to make of that confession. I personally wasn't sure what to make of 'stuck with her since birth.'

Then Hiei took a few steps forward and stopped right in front of her. I was amused by the fact that technically Hiei wasn't all that much shorter than my sister: he was maybe…only about eight inches shorter if you ignored his hair. "You're right in that words of love are hardly part of the demon culture. I know you were raised by humans, Machiko, so I'll only say this once. You still can't come with me; even with Genkai's training, you're not strong enough yet for the fight I'm going into. But if I survive, I'll come back for you." His eyebrow cocked, a slight smirk appeared on his face and he reached up to set his hand over one particular spot on her shirt, about where the mark on her collarbone was. "You're mine, after all."

I suspected that he was saying more to my sister than anyone else could hear; he's a telepath, she's a telepath, physical contact and eye contact made both easier…if he _was_ giving her a declaration of love telepathically so as not to be mocked by Yusuke or someone, who was to know? He probably wasn't, but I can pretend.

After a minute where Machiko didn't have me say anything, her tail suddenly circled around between the two of them and then just stopped.

Hiei stared down at it for a second. Then he laughed softly and stepped up onto it. "Still making jokes about my height, are we?"

An ironic smirk slid onto my sister's face as she lifted him up so that he was properly eye level with her.

I looked away at that moment, as the stripes were fading from my skin and there was no reason for me to watch their farewell kiss.

Looking away had me staring at Kurama, though.

Then those three Spirit World guys got Yusuke's attention, saying it was time for him to go.

Yusuke leaped through the portal that had been formed, though for some reason Pu stayed here. Come to think of it, Hiei was still standing there after that intense kiss he'd given Machiko.

Maybe the portal required that people go through one at a time or something.

But then they started closing the portal, leaving me wondering who was going to watch the bird.

Then again…that bird was essentially a Spirit World creature, maybe Botan was looking after it or something.

I glanced at the two demons.

Hiei acknowledged my confusion at his presence. "We're not all going to the same place in Demon World, therefore we needed separate portals."

Hiei went through his portal a bit later, after Yukina gave something to him to give to her brother if he should cross paths with that elusive beast. I laughed softly to myself and felt Hiei's eyes dwell on me for a second. I knew he could see what my thoughts were; I knew he could see that I knew who Yukina's brother truly was, and that I found the entire thing amusing. So amusing that I wasn't about to tell Yukina and spoil the fun.

"_**An elusive beast, am I?**_" That was all Hiei said to me before he actually went through the portal, not even giving me a chance to answer. Not that I would have answered that.

* * *

Two months after that, Kurama invited me and Kuwabara to his human mother's wedding. Then Kurama met up with me afterwards. I'd sort of anticipated that.

"Kamiko…"

I held up a hand, stopping him. "Yes. I know. You have to go to Demon World."

"On the condition that it would only be through the month of August, yes."

This made total sense; he wanted to get home before his mom came back from her honeymoon.

I pulled an envelope out of my bag and gave it to him. "This is what I wanted to give you before you left. Just promise me that…that you won't open it right away."

He cocked an eyebrow at me.

"Don't open it until…you've come to a decision on your own." I hated speaking so cryptically, but…I didn't want him to decide whether he'd live as a human or as a demon solely based on what _I_ said. And I couldn't just _say_ that, because…

"I think…I understand." He slipped the envelope into his bag. "You have my word that I won't open it until the last week of August, barring circumstances beyond my control."

_That's probably as good as I'm going to get._ I nodded, and we parted ways.

And I wondered if I'd ever see him again.

* * *

**Kurama**

If there was one thing I could breathe a sigh of relief over, it was that when Yomi forced me to work for him he never chose to use Kamiko as a bargaining chip for my good behavior.

However…I would not make the mistake of believing he wasn't aware of her existence…or thinking he didn't know or at least suspect what she meant to me – no, I wouldn't go that far. How would _he_ know what she meant to me, when I myself still hadn't answered that question?

_No…I know the answer to the question. Why else would my heart start racing upon even thinking of her in harm's way? It knew the answer before my head did. Now if I can just manage to keep her safe somehow..._


	16. A Sudden Relocation

_**A Sudden Relocation**_

* * *

**Kamiko**

The strangest thing was when Kurama came back to Human World. I didn't know why, but he had a sudden and very odd reaction when he saw me. Admittedly, he under-reacts greatly, but I knew him well enough to read at least a little underneath the surface.

He froze. His eyes got wide. He stood in one position for a full three seconds, and then he looked away and walked off down the corridor.

To any human, he probably was pulling off a perfectly ordinary "everything's fine" walk. I could see better; something was bothering him. But what?

**Kurama**

I was wracking my brain, trying to figure out how I could get some kind of warning to her without revealing to any watchers that there was anything between us. A note…but no, even a touch on her hand could be misinterpreted…or correctly interpreted. Could I really say nothing? Doubtless, if she noted anything strange in my behavior, she'd think I'd read her letter and taken its contents badly.

Actually, I'd nearly forgotten the letter. There was just too much to do. I was here to recruit six demons. The entire reason I hadn't put the twins on the list was…well. Neither was A-rank yet, though Machiko was close. That was the practical reason I wasn't recruiting them. The personal reason was that I suspected Hiei would take it badly if he found I'd recruited his mate to potentially fight against him. And as for Kamiko…sweet Kamiko would be eaten alive in this war.

I couldn't permit that to happen.

* * *

Then, right before I went to see Genkai about the training of the chosen six, Machiko approached me. "Um…Kurama…there's something I need to tell you."

**Kamiko**

I woke up just like any other morning – any other morning where I hadn't had a nightmare, anyway. I stretched out on my bed, my tail arching towards the ceiling.

"Alluring."

That…wasn't any voice I knew.

I sprang from the bed in the opposite direction from the voice and hit a steel floor on all fours, my eyes taking in a room that was most definitely _not_ mine!

And sitting at a table was a strange robed man with long black hair, six ears and two downward-pointing horns. He wasn't quite facing me, but it was enough to where I could see his eyes weren't open.

_Is he mocking me, or is he blind?_

I was still wearing my pajamas, fortunately.

"Oh, you needn't worry. I'm not about to harm you. I just thought you'd like to spend more time near Kurama, seeing as he'll be here rather longer than he may have told you."

I hesitated.

"Would you care to join me for breakfast? I promise you," he gestured at the other side of the table, "I made certain your fare was human food, seeing as you spent your entire life eating it and nobody's adventurous first thing in the morning."

It was my stomach that decided me. I started to creep over.

An ironic smile came onto his face. "I never asked you to bow to me. You may rise."

I rolled my eyes and stood up, walking over to the table. "Demon overlord Yomi, I presume?"

"You presume correct."

I sat down across from him and sniffed at the bowl. Nothing more sinister than sugar-laden cereal.

"I hope you don't mind the liberty I took moving you here."

I had just been about to put a spoonful into my mouth. Instead I glared at him.

"…A poor choice of words. I hope you'll forgive my taking such a liberty."

"Why take the liberty at all? I can't believe you moved me here out of the goodness of your heart. If you're anything like Kurama, you _always_ have your reasons."

"Indeed."

He didn't seem inclined to say anything further at that moment, so I had a few bites of cereal.

"To be honest, I was intrigued by the thought of a girl who'd attracted my old friend's attention."

That froze me for an instant. "What? …You had spies on…on Kurama?" Of course he wasn't spying on _me,_ he probably hadn't known I existed until recently.

"Of course. And, whatever his motives, Kurama does have a vested interest in keeping you alive."

I cocked my head. "What tipped you off?" I knew I sounded snippy, but I didn't care.

"Changes in behavior patterns. My sources stated that he'd flinch, though only slightly, and head in another direction upon seeing you. And yet, his behavior hadn't changed around anyone else. Just you." He took a sip from a cup before him, and once again his attention turned to me. "The question is: why?"

I shrugged, not caring that he couldn't see me. "Not a clue."

**Machiko**

"Kamiko's managed to make contact with me, and she says she's fine, Yomi's being an excellent host, setting aside the fact that she was kidnapped to get there, and to keep focused no matter what he says to you about her."

I tried to read Kurama's expression, or his energy. It wasn't easy. He didn't look happy at all.

"Kamiko says she's fine. And we can't lie on this line," I tapped my temple with a finger. "She's uneasy, but she said it's better than her last visit to Demon World. Just go on as if you believe Kamiko's still with me. Three steps ahead, right?"

Finally, he cracked something resembling a smile. And it wasn't exactly a comforting one. "Right. Three steps ahead."

* * *

Four months later

**Hiei**

As I recovered from my fight against Shigure, I reflected on how I'd only actually _told_ one person about my past since my operation, leaving out the part I'd had to promise my now-opponent I wouldn't reveal. Of course, Machiko was aware of who my sister is, so apparently _someone_ told her. I'd sensed neither approval nor disapproval of my life as a murderer, merely acceptance.

A smile flitted across my face as I recalled what she'd said when I asked why she didn't despise me now that she knew my story.

"_Why would I? Whether I like your past or not is moot; you marked me, so my opinion is irrelevant." Her tail swished as she stood with her back to me. "And as for the future, well, as long as you accept that there's a handful of people that mean enough to me to where killing them would leave me no choice but to try to kill you, we'll call it even."_

* * *

Six months later

**Kamiko**

I'd seen Kurama a few times during my stay in Demon World, though he never saw me. I also spoke with Machiko, and she was covering for me in school. She'd been enrolled, she just never showed because of her nameless 'condition.' She told me she was wearing shades under the excuse that her eyes were light-sensitive, because her eyes were the one thing that couldn't be explained away.

My views of Kurama, though…they left me uneasy. He still looked the same…but at times his manner totally changed. In fact, if I closed my eyes while listening to his voice during those times, I could hear the demon that had frightened me so in my dreams.

Then Yomi walked into the room I was in. "Your friend Yusuke is coming." He walked right up to me where I sat. "I find it hard to believe that he's Raizen's heir."

"If he pulled some corny joke like making faces at the security camera, I don't want to hear about it."

He just laughed. "It was only shouting. He apparently heard the rumors about my hearing." He set a hand on my head, which caused a color-shift for an instant that I couldn't see but knew from experience. "If you'd like, you may join us in the meeting room."

"I'd rather not be seen…and Yusuke's the least predictable of all who's likely to come in unaware of me. If I can be positioned somewhere he's not likely to see…" I felt a little ridiculous talking to a blind man about avoiding being seen.

A smile crossed his face. "I'm sure you can choose a good location once you've seen where he chooses to place himself."

_If Hiei appears, he'll probably notice my presence instantly. All I can do is hope he says nothing about me. As for Kurama…Machiko told me that she'd told him I was here. He's another unpredictable one. I hope he remains saying nothing._

"It's a shame you're not trained as an assassin. Can your friend even perceive you when you exert yourself?"

I sighed. "Even if you asked me outright to kill him, I wouldn't. But since you asked if Yusuke can notice my presence when I'm camouflaged, the answer is not last time we'd crossed paths. I only know two people – no, six – who can find me when I'm camouflaged: Hiei, Kurama, my mother, Machiko, Master Genkai, and you."

He seemed amused by my including him in the list.

* * *

I shed my new clothing – he had supplied clothes that weren't pajamas, but I wasn't all that comfortable in them anyway – and vanished from sight, weaving into position.

Yusuke hadn't changed…and yet he'd changed a ton.

I could hear a ton of paper-rustling from the next room. With a twitch of my nose, I learned that Kurama was behind that door. Nobody else in this world smelled of roses…with a touch of mint. _Kurama…you still have that mint sprig I gave you._

Yusuke came straight to the point by saying he'd come here to tell Yomi exactly how he planned on dethroning ol' Blind Six-Ears. (No, Yusuke never called him that, _I_ call him that.)

Then Yusuke set his bag on the table, calling it a gift. I didn't know what was in that thing, but I didn't know if I should be excited or apprehensive to find out. This _is_ Yusuke we're talking about.

Then Yomi told Yusuke to unwrap it – all polite, of course. Obviously he thought it was a trap, because Yusuke would never have gone with a peace offering. I suspected it wasn't either; Yusuke had _some_ intelligence, and wouldn't have blown everything on a stupid trap-in-a-sack, and besides, peace offerings weren't his style.

No, this was something else.

Small colored marbles rolled from the bag. At least three rolled right up to my clawed feet. The demon who came with Yusuke said it was their whole treasure.

_What? Yusuke…what?_

Then Yusuke told the lot of us that he figured there should be a new way of deciding who would be, in his words, the "big cheese around here."

A tournament. That was Yusuke's big idea: a tournament. That sounded…very Yusuke, actually.

Then the door to one side where Kurama was slid open suddenly, and a voice I didn't know proclaimed, "Sign me up, Yusuke!"

When I turned to look, I saw seven people standing in that door – one was Kurama.

Yusuke seemed to know the red-haired pointy-eared speaker, along with the others, because he laughed and demanded to know what they were doing here.

It was a big greeting-fest between Yusuke and these guys, while Kurama just stood there and smiled for a bit. I felt a little left out, because I had no interest in signing up for this. Then Kurama declared that he was only on his own side, speaking directly to Yomi.

_Hoo boy, I'd better do something to protect myself, or Yomi might try to bring me up as a way to get Kurama back into line…_ I sprang from the floor, spreading my wings, flapped once – carefully, so as not to scatter the treasure on the table any further – and coasted over the table, making sure I was listing away from Yomi and leaving nothing within reach, not even a wingtip.

I somehow managed to glide into the room the seven people had been in to begin with, without touching any of them. My glide angled downwards, and my hands softly hit the floor. While standing on my hands, I put away my wings again, and then touched my tail-tip to the floor and had it help me continue over into a backbend that led to my feet again.

And all the while, words were being exchanged behind me.

By the time I got to my feet again, Yomi had agreed to this idea. Now all that was left was to reveal myself somehow so I could be introduced to these people.

As it turned out, I didn't have to say anything. The tall guy that Yusuke had asked about being sober took a step backwards and landed squarely on my tail.

I shrieked and took off out the back window, leaping through it and running a few paces before stopping in camouflage to examine the damage. It was fine, mostly; the damage would have been worse if he'd actually been wearing shoes.

And then I heard that guy Jin again. "Ah-hah! Found 'er, guys! Over 'ere!" Light feet hit the ground near me and he came over. "Kurama's roight, you're a tricky one t' spot if ya don't know whatcha looking for!"

The others came over, I painted a wardrobe and my typical coloration, and I got caught up in a whirlwind of names that I decided not to even try to keep straight.

"Kamiko." I turned to look at Kurama. I couldn't read his expression. "Are you all right?" His voice was very neutral.

"I'm fine. It wasn't my choice to come here, but Yomi's been respectful."

"So now that you're not being held here anymore, what will you do?"

I studied his face for a second. Then I grinned. "Demand that you buy me a front-row audience seat ticket to this tournament, of course!"

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, I know, Yomi abducting Kamiko was a little out there, but I didn't want to try to write the election tournament from one of the main guy's points of view, and I couldn't think of any other way to get one of my twins to Demon World; they wouldn't have asked, Machiko's still not that good at fighting and Kamiko doesn't like fighting at all. We're nearing the end here, folks, hang in there!**


	17. Wild Tournament Run

**_Wild Tournament Run_**

* * *

"Wha?" Jin looked surprised. "You're not signing up yourself?"

"I'm not a fighter. I got a bit of training in the Forest of Fools, and Genkai has helped me a great deal in my flying, but I don't have any killing instinct, and the majority of the ones going into this tournament play by those rules. I'd be driven to invisibility and running within two minutes. Besides, that's assuming I even _want_ the job of 'ruler of Demon World,' which I don't." I sighed. "All I want to do when the tournament is over is go home – home to the human world."

* * *

100 days later

Kurama did arrange for me to get a front-row seat. "Should I attempt to get Machiko here?"

"She knows what's happening. She also says that rather than try to come in person, she's going to watch through my eyes. Just like we've always done growing up, only this time…well."

"Indeed. Well, you'd best get to your spot."

I ran off, and then switched to camouflaged flight – flight to get there, camouflage to avoid getting catcalls from any demons that might look up.

"_**Who are you rooting for?**_" Machiko asked when I'd gotten to my spot, revealed myself and settled.

"_**Uh…not Kurama: if he won, he'd probably have to stay here. Same goes for Yusuke, I can't wish that on Keiko. Other than that, I have no preferences.**_"

I was a bit too far away to hear what Yusuke was saying, first to Mukuro and Yomi, and then to Kurama and Hiei.

Though I caught him shout something at Hiei about "standing on a phone book to fight." I facepalmed. _Men…_

Finally things got moving. The preliminaries were going to have groups of forty-nine fighting until only one from each group was standing. I didn't keep the numbers straight, but Yusuke wasn't put into the same group as any friends or enemies.

"_**Well, this is certainly going to be interesting.**_" Machiko did sound interested.

Not _every_ group was going to be forty-nine; some people dropped out almost as soon as the lottery was finished. But soon the carnage began.

There were lots of surprises, so many that I won't go into them. Hiei, Kurama, and several other people I'd met were moving on.

I confess, by three-quarters through the preliminaries I'd withdrawn into the back of my own head and let Machiko have the foreground. Once I knew Kurama had made it, I just didn't need to see anymore.

"_**Drunky blew it for a girl, and Yusuke's whipping demons left and right!**_"

"_That's great, Machiko, but do me a favor and don't drag me into this unless Yomi and that kid show up, okay?_"

"_**Alrighty.**_" Then Machiko suddenly dragged me up again. "_**Wait, Yusuke was the second-to-last group. Ol' Six-Ears is the last one.**_"

I watched.

It started with the two of them standing there facing each other. I'd call it a staring contest like the announcer-girl did, except I know full well Yomi can't see anything.

Little guy made the first actual move, and things went wild. It soon became a chase, with the kid leading his dad on a merry chase through the trees that the blind demon was somehow keeping up with! _How's he doing that? …__**Hey, Machiko, you might consider a bit of blindfolded training!**_"

"_**Thank you, I'll do that – **_**after**_** the tournament!**_"

Then the little guy spun around and started swinging punches at his dad, but the guy was blocking every single swing – and was he _smiling?_

Then the kid got a pounding of his own: one throw, one zap, one punch and one kick that sent him flying!

"_**I feel sorry for the poor boy**_" was all I could think.

"_**For real, he had no idea what he was getting into when he signed up for this.**_"

I missed what happened next. It involved fire. And then I retreated back into the depths of my own head. "_**I can't watch. Seeing a child get pounded like this goes against everything I hold dear!**_"

"_**Okay, okay…I'll tell you who won.**_"

I did my best to ignore the sounds of battle whenever they reached my ears.

After too long, Machiko spoke again. "_**The kid surrendered.**_"

"_**At least you didn't start with 'Yomi won.' I'd hate to think the boy got killed.**_" I came forward again.

Yusuke got the microphone and said he wanted this tournament to be held every three or four years to choose the new ruler. I couldn't tell how the demon viewers felt about this idea.

"_**Hey…**_**I**_** might want to enter the next one!**_"

"_**Machiko, you know nothing about being a ruler. Dream on.**_"

* * *

The next match was set up. Yusuke was up first, and easily took down his giant cat opponent. I admit I skimmed over most of the other matches, though Machiko was taking in every detail.

The cute imp-fellow I met some time back lost to a guy who could stretch his neck. At least he surrendered instead of getting killed. And then there was Jin, who also lost, though the aerial battle was pretty amazing to watch!

"_**If we ever fought,**_" Machiko asked, "_**Would our battles look like that eventually?**_"

I considered that for a moment. "_**Well…I guess. Maybe. You know, if I actually put some effort into learning some aggression and actually liking to fight.**_"

"_**Spoilsport.**_"

Jin's opponent carried the guy off the field. It was so odd that he'd passed out on his feet like that. _Fighters; I'll never understand them._

* * *

…Actually, _everybody_ I'd met just before this tournament who'd been friends with Yusuke lost in this round.

And then a match I was thoroughly interested in appeared: Kurama.

I wondered if he'd read that note yet.

"_**What'd you write in that thing, anyway?**_"

"_**I'm not telling you, sis. That's my business.**_"

I didn't care if Kurama won or lost. I just had one prayer for Kurama:

_Don't die._

It wasn't long before Kurama pulled his rose whip, but then his opponent threw his bladed ring of death and Kurama had to keep dodging the thing!

* * *

…I won't give a blow-by-blow. Those are very stressful to me when I'm reading them in a book or when Machiko's telling them to me. Kurama became the Youko midway through the fight, though, and was bounding around and generally driving his opponent up the wall by being impossible to hit! But he changed back almost immediately afterwards, even though it did lead to him getting hurt in the arm a beat later!

_Kurama…did you come to a decision?_

The ultimate result is that Kurama won, but collapsed! I wanted to go see him, but…

"_**Go.**_"

That's all Machiko said. I didn't question, I just went camouflaged and took flight.

I met up with everyone as I flew, and joined Botan and Jin, revealing myself. My emotional color had ended up a shade of lavender that was so pale it might as well have been white.

My demon-sharp eyes picked out Kurama being supported by Yomi as they came out, and I breathed a sigh of relief as my color darkened back into a proper lavender tint.

My ears were just sharp enough to pick up what they said to each other, though only just – they were speaking softly.

"Kurama…have you forever deserted yourself as Youko?"

"I don't know. I never leave anything behind. I never have."

After that exchange, Yomi walked away, and we all ran or flew over to our friend.

I did my best to slow my flight so I wouldn't smack into him too hard, but…I did reach him first, and I didn't have time to backwing all my speed away before I hit him. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and continued flapping my wings hard to try to keep us from falling over, trying to find the ground again with my feet.

And Kurama laughed softly into my ear, hugging my waist.

That…would have been a losing battle for balance if Jin hadn't grabbed my tail. "Whoops! Easy there, Kami, our ol' buddy Kurama's not too steady!"

"I know – I was _trying_ to stop!" My feet dangled, and I looked over my shoulder, or tried to; my wings made that awkward. "Hey, could you lower my feet back to the ground?"

"Hm? Oh, righto." After a second, my long talon-toes found the ground and I could stand again. Putting my wings away and returning to my standard form, I released Kurama and stared into his face. "So you made a decision."

Just going by his expression, he suddenly realized what I was talking about. "Your note! _This_ was what you wanted me to decide on before I read it: whether I chose to live as a human or a demon!"

I nodded slightly.

"Note?" Jin sounded confused as we brought Kurama back to the main house of demons.

I took pity on him. "I'd given Kurama a note before he'd left the human world, but I'd told him he needed to make a decision before he opened it. I didn't want to tell him what decision, because I felt that would take away all element of choice."

"Why would you bother giving him a note if you were coming here, anyway?" asked the kimono-imp who I'd forgotten the name of.

"You forget," I waved the tip of my tail admonishingly at him; "I didn't know I was coming here. Yomi brought me here unasked more-or-less around the time you lot had started your training."

Kurama refused to go see a doctor, claiming he only needed a few moments to rest. Jin called him on that, and Kurama changed his statement as far as wanting to watch the next battle: Hiei's next battle. And then he'd go.

I tapped my temple as if listening to a phone call. "Machiko says she's got no objections to sitting with Kurama as we watch Hiei's match."

The small group of demons stared at me for a second. Then Kurama smiled slightly. "You made that up."

I giggled. "It'd amount to the same thing, since she's watching the tournament through my eyes."

"Alright."

I settled down next to Kurama and spread one wing, draping it across Kurama's shoulders. He sat forward, his gaze intense on the screen. I allowed Machiko to turn my eyes onto the screen with equal intensity, or maybe more so considering how intense my eyes are in full demon mode.

* * *

Machiko winced once inside my head, when Hiei said he had nothing left to live for. "_**I hope he's just faking that, to keep people from knowing how he feels about me.**_"

"_**He's retreated into his past, Machiko. I believe he did so the moment he crossed through that portal, with only a brief thought of you, if any.**_" We watched the battle a bit more in mental silence as Hiei took a bit of a beating and ditched his shirt. Then I spoke again. "_**You're dating a demon, Machiko. Doesn't it make sense that he's got some demons of his own to get rid of before he can truly focus on the future?**_"

"…_**Yeah, I guess…**_" I could still feel the hurt my twin was experiencing at being so casually forgotten.

"_**You just wait, I guarantee you, if he succeeds in fighting off any of his inner demons, the first thing he's going to ask is where you are.**_"

Kurama suddenly stiffened under my wing. "The Darkness Flame!"

Our attention returned to the screen. Hiei was getting ready to channel his black fire.

Then something Mukuro said struck home to Machiko, or at least it felt like something struck home to her. "It's not hatred, it's longing – you just want to belong to something! You know in your soul that I'm right, Hiei, admit it!"

"_**He wants…to belong…to something?**_"

I didn't bother asking what she was thinking. Her mind had stuttered to a complete stop, she wasn't _thinking_ anything right this instant.

Then the sparks of light died away, and I was left feeling like that was anticlimactic.

Then he started going at her with his fists!

"_**Huh; the last time he was fighting with just his fists, that I know of, anyway, was with me!**_"

Then Mukuro shot a ray of light that…

"She has the power to divide space!" Kurama sounded nearly awestruck. "I thought it was just a rumor, but it would seem the stories are actually true."

Jin stared at Kurama. "What does it do, now?"

"Mukuro can cut directly through the third dimension itself. Anyone who comes in contact with the cuts will be split as well."

"_**Hiei!**_"

And Hiei was dodging cuts being made through space! Machiko had closed my third eyelids so that she could watch every moment…and I was starting to retreat so that I wouldn't have to watch.

I still listened a bit, though.

* * *

The next I personally knew of a difficulty, our friendly ice-master had said, "He's trapped!"

Kurama compared what Mukuro was doing to crafting a large spider's web, and said that if Hiei didn't do something quick he'd be torn apart.

Machiko was becoming ever more agitated.

I came forward when I heard Hiei's voice say "Just remember you asked for it." He took off the bandages covering his third eye…and his right arm.

Dark flames surged from his hand, and his third eye opened. Then he unleashed the true Dragon of the Darkness Flame!

"_**Machiko…you sure you want this one?**_"

"_**Oh, yeah, I definitely want to keep this one, sis, you're not talking me out of it.**_"

"This will soon be over," Kurama sounded apprehensive. Which was fair, I _felt_ apprehensive.

Then Mukuro…split the dragon!

**Hiei**

I was knocked flat. Mukuro approached me. "Now I am satisfied. Thank you."

I slowly got to my feet.

"In truth, every time you summoned the dragon you struggled to control it consciously. It could only feed off the intentions of your soul. You've lost. Your flame couldn't hurt me."

"Heh. I accept that, and all that it means."

"Please, Hiei, don't tell me your only purpose for living now is the hope of one day defeating me. I don't think that I could bear it."

"No, Mukuro. You…just missed the point."

Her shackle cracked.

"Now you can leave your hatred in the past, where it belongs." I pointed at her. "Now you don't have to be shackled to it anymore."

And the shackle fell off.

"There are things in the future that _are_ worth living for, both for you and for me."

The last of my strength faded at that moment, but strangely enough, Machiko was still foremost in my mind from when I'd said that. I was aware, vaguely, that Mukuro was supporting me against her before I blacked out.

For a moment before my eyes fell shut, I saw…stripes.

"_I'll be honest with you, Hiei, the one thing that always bothered me – not all the time, mind you, just when I happen to be reminded – is that…I can't tell if I'm black with white stripes, or white with black stripes. I also don't know which is worse."_

_I'd laughed at the time. And going by the self-deprecating smile she was wearing, she'd meant for me to laugh._

_Now, though…I want to tell her. I know which she is._


	18. How It All Ends

_**How It All Ends**_

* * *

**Kamiko**

The tournament continued. Machiko withdrew from my head when Hiei lost. Apparently, that had been all she wanted to see. I stayed by Kurama as we continued watching. Yusuke went up against Yomi.

Actually, readers, I didn't watch this fight. I didn't want Yusuke to win, but I didn't want him to die. I was by Kurama while Kurama was watching because I wanted to be in friendly company, even if the TV was more interesting at the moment. The most interesting part early on was when Yusuke punched Yomi in the face, and then when Yomi got up he'd said he'd suddenly gotten a strong urge to take that hit to the face. What a weirdo.

**Kurama**

Kamiko tipped into my lap around the time Yusuke started channeling the power of the Mazoku. I couldn't believe it – the most intense part of the battle, and Kamiko had fallen asleep!

Still…

I rested my hand on her head and continued watching. It wouldn't have surprised me if Kamiko could pick up on what I was watching and dream about it.

**Kamiko**

_I dreamed…nothing concrete, but there was a great deal of shouting, from both Yusuke and Yomi. And then I saw them. They were swinging punches at each other, connecting a great deal, seemingly mostly with each other's faces, but both were grinning like a couple of lunatics._

_The two of them were also dealing out a ton of energy punches at each other. And the crowds were cheering for both of them, where before everyone was calling for Yusuke's blood._

It was an energy surge that woke me up. A _serious_ energy surge, from Yusuke! I rubbed my eyes and stared.

Yomi also charged up some serious energy, and the two prepared for one final blast at each other. I missed what Yomi said, but Yusuke's answer was along the lines of "It's not a good party without somebody on the floor." _Men._

Energy-laden fists laid into each other, and I couldn't tear my eyes away! I sensed Machiko come back to see the final run of Yusuke's match.

All of us, including myself, wound up on our feet!

And after a final, all-or-nothing punch that each gave to the other's face…

Yusuke lost!

* * *

**Kurama**

It was a week before Yusuke woke up from his defeat. We went to visit him in the hospital. I told him that the tournament was over, and then I helped him out to the auditorium so he could see the finale where the announcer was declaring the winner and new king of Demon World. Enki would make a good ruler for as long as he held the position.

I told Yusuke how the remainder of the tournament had gone, as well as what had happened regarding Yomi. I gave him Yomi's message, and also thought over what he'd said to me.

We gathered outside the auditorium later. Touya asked, "So it's back to the human world for you, isn't it Kurama?"

"Yes, it's time I chose a home."

All of our Dark Tournament friends set off, giving us their farewells, and Yusuke, Kamiko and I stood together for a moment longer. Then Yusuke went off to finish some things. I started walking, and Kamiko fell into step beside me.

We met Hiei on our way; he told me he was staying in Demon World and gave me his mother's stone. I couldn't resist making a joke, and I was rewarded – besides Hiei coming close to losing his temper – by Kamiko snickering. I knew what he wanted: he wanted me to give it to Yukina for him.

"I want you to tell her that her dear twin brother has been dead for years."

I gave the stone back to him, though, so that he could give it to her himself. I wasn't about to close this door for him. "Besides," I cocked my head, "didn't you promise to go back for Machiko?"

"You're the same as when we first met: a pain that speaks the truth." Then he glanced at Kamiko, who was apparently giving him a look.

No, I didn't turn around; I didn't want to know what she was saying to him with that look.

Whatever she said, he sighed. "You can tell your sister I'm not ready to bring her here. But when I am, she'll know."

"Thank you, Hiei."

We parted ways, and I glanced over my shoulder at her. "What did you say to him?"

"I told him that Machy would kill me if I didn't have any message for her from him, and that then she'd come after him to kill him herself."

I laughed. "What with how she's going back to her demon heritage, she probably would, at that!"

"Um, Kurama…"

"Hm?"

"Did…did you ever read the note?"

I stopped cold. "No! I forgot all about it!" Swinging my bag off my shoulder, I started digging around in it. "Let's see…where did that…here it is!" Pulling it out, I looked at it, and then glanced at her. "Are you sure you're fine with my reading it in front of you?"

Her colors told a story. First she turned bright red. Then she turned white. _She's embarrassed – at the contents of her note, no doubt – and she's scared of _something_…what my reaction to her words could be, perhaps?_ "If you don't want me to…"

"No, it's…it's fine. Just…pretend I'm not here." And she faded out, blending into what was behind her with only her shadow betraying her location…and closing her eyes.

I looked at the note again. Then I opened it, pulled out the single sheet of paper, and started reading.

"_Kurama, you asked me some time back what lavender meant. I didn't actually answer then, because at the time, I didn't know. None of my, ah…imagining emotional circumstances had ever pulled it (that's how I know which color means what to the extent that I do, lol)."_

I laughed softly. _So that's what she did._

"_It took me a good week before I figured out what it meant. Lavender…means love."_

My eyes got big as I kept reading.

"_It took me as long as it did to figure that out because I'd never been in love before. I told Mother who you…are? Were? Well, anyway, I told her about Youko and she basically told me that if you chose to live as a human, I could…I had her blessing."_

_I think I see where she was going when she mentioned I had to make a decision…_

"_I don't want your decision to be because of anything that I said. Wherever you stay, however you live, I want it to be because __you__ made that choice. If you decide to live as a demon, then this note is my farewell, because I can't live in Demon World."_ A water spot was next to the final word, and I didn't have to guess what it was.

"_But…if you decide to spend the rest of your life as Suichi…would you even consider having me be a part of that life? Your friend…Kamiko."_

I stared at the words for a long moment. I could hear Kamiko's fast heartbeat behind me. And I didn't know what to say to her.

I looked over my shoulder at her, or at least where I'd last seen her. Then I realized two things.

One, while I was hearing her heartbeat plainly, I wasn't hearing her breathing.

And two, I was starting to be able to see her. Everything was taking on a faint tint of blue.

_Tinted blue means a lack of air – was she holding her breath the whole time I was reading?_

Then she started tilting.

I spun around and caught her as she fell. She faded out again, but she'd started breathing again.

_She's unconscious. And yet she's camouflaging._ I smiled. "Instinct ensures that you can't be seen when you're vulnerable, no matter what!" I hefted her up into my arms, resting her head against my chest and setting my bag in her lap. "You're amazing, Kamiko." As I walked, carrying her, I thought carefully about what I would tell her when she woke up, because without proper buffering, an "I'll think about it" could completely destroy her.

Actually, I returned Kamiko to her sister and met up with Kuwabara to tell him how everything had gone.

**Kamiko**

I woke up bright red. I couldn't believe I'd _fainted!_ I didn't even know what Kurama's decision was!

* * *

And then for three years, we never really managed to cross paths long enough for him to tell me what he thought. Machiko left for Demon World and joined Hiei as soon as she realized that the barrier was down, though she stayed in contact with me mentally. She told me that Hiei was part of a patrol in Demon World to rescue any humans who strayed in. She also had a good laugh and told me that Hiei had confirmed for her that she was black with white stripes. I still didn't know if that was TMI or not.

Finally I got a summons from Genkai, and I got ready for a long trip – one that involved flight.

* * *

After flying for a while – with my landing and going human in a nearby town to buy some food to go – I finally flew above the stairs that led to Genkai's. I'd been camouflaging for the flight, but at this point I didn't see any reason to; nobody was here to see me besides the few people in the know.

I knew exactly when someone had spotted my shadow. It was Keiko.

**Kurama**

Keiko paused briefly in her stair climbing. "Hey…"

I looked back. "Is something up, Keiko?" Keiko, Kuwabara, Shizuru and I were all heading to Master Genkai's.

"Look," she pointed just ahead of me.

When I turned, I noticed a shadow passing back and forth across our path: a slender shadow with large bat-like wings.

I smiled. "Nothing to worry about, Keiko, it's just Kamiko."

"Was she invited, too?" Kuwabara asked.

"Most likely. I'm not sure she'll come down just yet." I looked up and waved at her, then looked quickly back down at her shadow.

The shadow revealed an arm and hand, waving back at us.

"Well," Shizuru sounded amused, "looks like someone got confident enough in flight to move her arms while flying. The few times I've seen Kamiko fly, she doesn't wave her arms around at all."

We arrived and opened the gates, looking about at Master Genkai's home. Kamiko flew over the wall and circled down for an elegant landing, taking on her halfway appearance and waiting for us to approach. I understood why she was in her standard form. All of us had seen her this way, so she had nothing to hide from any of us.

Yukina opened the door for us, and Kuwabara ran to greet her. None of us were above teasing Kuwabara a little for his not-overly-subtle visiting Yukina. Even Kamiko turned a soft pink, which I'm positive was meant to mock him. I brought the conversation back to Genkai, and she came out to see us.

**Kamiko**

Her opening was that we were late. I rolled my eyes.

Kurama told Master Genkai about how Yusuke hadn't come back yet. Then Botan came by, and Koenma, too! They sat down, and Genkai cut right to the chase.

She'd called us here to tell us all what she wanted us to do after she died!

Total silence reigned in the room.

Then everyone tried to make it sound like Genkai wasn't going to die, at least until she told them to shut up so she could continue.

After the funeral, she was leaving the entire estate to all of us! A mountain range to one side, a shore to the other! And we were to leave the nature just as it was. This was a nice safe place for apparitions, any demons who wanted to come here to human world.

* * *

We all went out together, and Yukina came with us.

"Amazing," Kurama said. "All this land, as far as the eye can see, belongs to her."

"Yeah," Kuwabara added. "Definitely something we won't be chopping down. We'll do a lot of good stuff here."

Shizuru looked at her watch. "We have time; we can go down to the shore!"

Kuwabara instantly agreed, and invited Yukina to come. And hey, she accepted!

We all headed down the stairs. Well, I was walking in the grass beside the path, because I did have difficulty maneuvering stairs with my demonic feet. Kuwabara, as I heard behind me, ended up going down memory lane about Genkai, and his time hanging out with Mister Spirit Detective when Yusuke was still Mister Spirit Detective.

* * *

We got to the beach, and I knew Kuwabara was going to make an idiot of himself the minute Yukina called the sunset romantic. Keiko, Yukina, Botan and Kuwabara all ditched their shoes, and we walked along the beach letting the water come up and hit our feet.

After a minute, Botan, Kuwabara and Yukina all ran off to do…whatever, leaving me and Keiko standing there by ourselves.

I looked at Keiko. She was staring out into the sunset, and somehow I just knew she was thinking about Yusuke.

Then Keiko started shouting at the sunset, yelling at Yusuke about how she was done waiting. And _finally,_ Yusuke showed up!

Keiko's first steps towards him were hesitant, like she couldn't believe he was here. Then she ran for him happily.

I got a good, though quiet, laugh when Keiko outright knocked Yusuke over.

I heard a quiet remark from Kurama further up on the shore. "Well, that's reminiscent of what almost happened back during the tournament."

Then Keiko kissed Yusuke! And they completely didn't notice when a big wave came and soaked them!

Botan said something, but I hadn't caught it. Kuwabara and Yukina apparently were in shock, and Kurama and Shizuru both laughed. I never quite got to laughing, but…it was pretty funny that they got soaked.

After that kiss, they both ran further into the water and started splashing each other. One of Yusuke's random threats was that he could dump the whole ocean on her if he wanted.

I sighed. "He hasn't changed much."

Then Kuwabara, Botan and Yukina ran into the water to join them. I walked back up the beach to hang out with Kurama and Shizuru. Both were kind of smiling at the crazy party below.

Then Kurama switched his attention to me. "Did Kuwabara ever figure out the secret to your wardrobe?"

"No. I'm not going to bother telling him, it's not important. In fact, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if he forgot that he'd asked."

He laughed softly. "Well, that's always a possibility." He was still looking out at the splashers. Then his arm slid around my waist.

I froze, though my tail swung about and twined loosely around his near leg. Did this mean what I thought it meant?

"I've thought a great deal about your note. And I came to a decision, based on something I realized a while ago. When I'd realized Yomi was going to use my family as blackmail, I knew there was nothing he wouldn't use to keep a hold on me. And the thought that he might try to use you…it frightened me. It frightened me more than anything else…even more than his hold over my parents."

I was quiet. I didn't know how I was supposed to respond to this.

Then he fussed with his hair and pulled his rose out of it. "Kamiko…I believe I loved you from the moment you proved yourself game to take flight and drag me to the top of the hospital when you'd never flown before. I just didn't realize it until there was a chance you'd be in danger." He looked at me, and then offered me the rose. "If you still want to give us a chance, after I waited so long to tell you my decision…"

I took the rose from him, looked at it for a second, and then set it into my hair, winding a few locks around the stem and letting the thorns hold them in place. Then I smiled up at him…wondering if he was going to kiss me. I could see in the reflection of his eyes that my cheeks had just turned a faint swirl of shy-pink and lavender, and I didn't bother trying to erase it.

Kurama's expression just screamed that he was the happiest man alive. He set his free hand gently against my cheek, and I allowed one thought to reach him before I closed my eyes: "_**If you're going to kiss me, do so now before Yusuke or Kuwabara ruin the moment.**_"

Kurama laughed softly, pulled me a bit closer, and set his lips to mine.

It wasn't the same as what Machiko got from Hiei, or what dream-Youko gave me. It was gentle, respectful, and in my opinion, better.

Especially when it deepened.

* * *

**A/N: The twins do appear in a fanfiction written by 4fireking, "Spirit Detective Trainwreck Adventure," which takes place ten years after the events of this one - give or take - but so far Kamiko barely shows up in it. The first that's mentioned for her is that she and Kurama are on their honeymoon, but there's nothing leading up to that. Sequel ideas can run along those lines, as I have no idea why Kurama took so long to propose.**


End file.
